Of Tugs and Warships
by E2Fan32110
Summary: Please don't hate me if the characters are a bit out of their usual self! The naval district is a very big place, with many different kinds of ships, but while we mostly concentrate on the destroyers and other kinds of warships, we forgot the background workers: the tugs. Now, we see how one tug, grew beyond the little harbor tug, and how he comese a real fighter
1. Chapter 1

The naval district was one of the biggest complexes in the whole of the shipping industry, and therefore, was always busy. Ships of all kinds came and went there, but the most famous where the ships that were stationed here, from the Destroyers like Fubuki to the aircraft carriers like Akagi. But there was one kind of ship that was always kept in the background of operation, but was a key part for the fluent work of the district: the tugboat. These little ships were scattered around the district, but weren't really seen by the other ships, since they were always busy, transporting ammunition and fuel around. They were the humble workers, who set the stage on which the fleetgirls fought for the peace of the seas. But one day, that all changed...

It was a pretty normal day at the district, the ships were either practicing or resting, but not Fubuki. She was at the docks, after having been hit by an Abyssal battleship. She was relaxing, the hard fight still on her mind, but the peace wasn't to last, as a slight crashing sound could be heard from the doors. She looked over, just to find a young boat, with strange equipment, and even stranger clothes, standing in the door, with a load of boxes around him. He blushed deep red when he saw what he did.

"Gah! I'm sorry! I didn't notice you were here, Ms. Fubuki!" He said, bowing, before starting to pick the boxes up.

"Wait, let me help you." Said Fubuki, and got out of the water, putting a towel around her.

The two of them started to pick up the boxes, and soon, all of them were stacked away.

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Fubuki." Said the boat again.

"It was nothing really. But who are you? And where did you know my name from?"

"My name is Comet. I'm a tugboat from captain Walters fleet, and work around the district together with my friends. We were always taught to stay away from the bigger ships, and said that they would rip us apart if we came to close." Explained the young tug.

"But I didn't rip you apart, right?" Smiled Fubuki.

"That's right... I always admired you, Destroyers, Battleships, Cruisers and Carriers. You can fight for our sea, for the freedom on it, but we are stuck here, just doing the household." Said Comet.

"Well, it isn't all that good. Sometimes, it can be really hard to fight out there. You never know if you come back or not, and you sometimes loose a sister out there as well." Explained the young ship girl.

Just then, the call came for Comet to return to his captain. He said good bye to Fubuki, and went away. He returned to a run down house, where he and his friends lived. They were all tugboats, but some were bigger, and some were smaller than him. He himself was a railway carrier tug, which meant that he could pull barges with railway equipment with him, to carry them across the naval district. In front of the crew stood a man in his late 50s, with gray hair and brown eyes. He, along with all of them, wore blue pants with black boots, white shirts under light blue jackets, and blue flat caps on their heads. The man smiled when he saw the young boy.

"Ah, Comet. So nice to finally turned up! The others already have their orders, so all there's left for your is car ferry duties. Take your barges and get to the loading bay!" Ordered captain Walters, and Comet quickly went away.

He soon reached the yards, and was tied up to his usual two railway barges. Once reaching the railway yard, two trucks with large, kettle like fuel tanks were pushed onto the barges, and with the fairies' help, were secured for the trip across the bay, towards the warehouses. This was his favorite duty. He always loved the work with the railway engines, and the engineers. He usually helped them with the repairs on the locomotives, often getting scolded by captain Walters for neglecting his duties around the port while he did. While he made his way across the bay, he came past the training ground, where Fubuki was making a training run after her time in the docks. He tooted his hooter at her, but regretted it when he noticed her loosing her balance, and falling onto the water. He untied himself from the barges, and rushed off to help her. He stopped next to her and helped her up.

"Thank you Comet. I heard a strange noise, and lost my balance." She explained.

"That was probably me. I whistled hello, but I didn't know you would be frighted by my hooter." He said, blasting his whistle again.

"I was not afraid! I just... never heard anything like that before." She admitted quietly.

"That's because this is a steam whistle. I guess you never heard one of these, being surrounded by air horns all the time..." Started the tug, but ended his sentence in a low murmur.

"Wait! You run on steam?"

"Yes, me and the other tugboats from my fleet all have the soul of steam tugs in us. They were used in New York and other big ports, but were either replaced by diesel fueled tugs or rebuilt into those in the 40s and 50s."  
"I never heard of someone with a steamship soul inside of them before." Admitted the girl.

"Well, we don't usually get to do much fighting, that's something for the more modern ships like you. We steamers have our use in the civilian market, not where all space is needed for guns and munition." Smiled Comet slightly, when the blast of another whistle rang out.

"Was that one of your friends?" Asked Fubuki.

"No, that was engine #12, and he's waiting for the next shipment, which is currently on board.. of.. my.. barges... damn I need to go! Sorry for scaring you; see you later!" Whistled the tugboat, and chuffed quickly to his barges, but couldn't tie himself up properly, and lost his second barge.

"Hey wait! You lost your cargo!" Shouted Fubuki, but Comet was working so hard, the bark of his stack drowned out the noise around him.

"Who was that, Fubuki?" Asked Mutsuki.

"That was one of the tugboats who work around here, but he left half of his cargo here." The girl explained, and grabbed the rope to the barge.

"What are you doing?"  
"He is already in trouble for being late, he will be in even bigger trouble if he delivers only half of his load." Said Fubuki, and started off, but was surprised by how heavy the barge was. She strained all the way to the wharf, where the first barge was already unloading, and Comet in discussion with the wharf manager.

"How do you explain this?! We expected you to come with 4 cars, on two barges, so where are the other two?!" Snarled the man, making the young tug shiver slightly.

"Um, they are, they are, I knew I had them with me when I left the loading bay... I must've left them somewhere on the way! I'll go and search them right a-"  
"You don't need to, I've got it here." Panted Fubuki, as she slowed to an stop next to Comet.

"Fubuki! Thank you so much for getting my barge here! Here is the barge sir! With the final two trucks!" Smiled the tug, and brought the barge into position on the wharf. The locomotive was tied to the strings of trucks with a rope, and slowly pulled it from the ferries. They then transformed from their miniature size to their standard gauge size, and where properly coupled up to the locomotive. The engineer waved at Comet, who waved in return, and slowly, the train departed.

"Alright then, you can go, and take your barges with you! We need this bay clear for the Red Stacks!" Barked the manager, as Comet cringed slightly by the sound of the red stacks.  
"Come on Fubuki, lets get moving." Said the young tug coldly, and started off with his car ferries, followed by Fubuki.

"What was that?" She asked the tug.

"What was what?"  
"The thing with those small railway wagons."  
"Oh that! Well, it's nothing really. It's practically the same as with the planes from the carrier girls. The locomotives bring the trucks, and when they get pushed onto the barges, they transform into smaller versions of their normal size. The weight is cut in half too, but its still heavy, so only special build tugs like myself and Rodney can pull them." Explained the tug.

"Who is Rodney?"  
"Rodney, is the Red Stacks number 3 tug. He is snobbish, stuck up, and downright a bad character, as are the rest of the red stacks! They have the souls of the first generation diesel tugs, the ones that replaced us, inside them, and want to do just that: replace us! But captain Walters makes sure we are in top condition, and work like we did when we were build. The red stacks are working with mean tricks, and wouldn't be scared of a real fight, just to win a contract for their fleet, but it usually backfires on them." Explained Comet, smirking on the final bit, when a low blast of an air horn rang through the sky, and a tug, having a stricking similarity to Comet, came up to the two ships. The only difference was that he wore black and red clothing, with a red baseball cap on his head. He sneered when he saw Comet.

"Oh look, if it isn't my worthless cousin Comet. Didn't broke down again, have we?" He smirked.

"Very funny Rodney. How about you actually finish a job, **without** sinking the barges on the way, before you talk to your elder, hm?" Smirked Comet in return, as Rodney turned red.

"S-shut up, you outdated fossil!" He barked.

"Take that back!" Said Fubuki firmly.

"And who are you then, hm? Did my cousin find himself a little girlfriend? Stupid as you are, you have a good taste, scrap steamer." Oiled the younger tug, eying Fubuki hungrily, making the young Destroyer feel uncomfortable.

"Eyes off Rodney! And before you try any moves, you should probably know that this is Fubuki, namesake of the Fubuki special destroyer class!" Said the older tug angrily, not liking the look in the youngsters eyes.

"Pah! Good one there! She and a destroyer?! She would sink after receiving one bump from an Abyssal tugboat!" He laughed, making Fubuki feel very weak, and turning away, she rushed off.

"Pretty fast, for a tugboat." Rodney oiled, licking his lips.

"You're disgusting, you know that? You better not be in my sights when I get back. Hey! Fubuki! Wait!" Shouted Comet, and rushed after her, leaving the red stack with an naughty, pleased smile on his face, happy to have angered his steam powered cousin.

Comet steamed after the destroyer, but he was much slower than she was, and so he soon lost her, shortly after getting out of the launching station. He walked around the naval district, shouting her name out, but it was no use, he just couldn't find her. He sighted, and walked towards Mamiya's cafe, to get something to drink; the long time rushing about in the port has let him forget his water supply, and his stomach was starting to growl from the lack of food. When he got there, Mamiya had already prepared a bowl filled with all kinds of berries, along with a cold soda.

"Did you read my mind Mamiya?" Joked the tug as he sat down.

"No, but you only order this whenever you come here, and it wasn't that hard to figure out that you would get here sometime soon; the steam clouds of the goods train gave you away." Smiled Mamiya, and turned away to get to some other customers.

"Also, did you see a young destroyer by the name of Fubuki running around here somewhere? She rushed off and I need to speak to her." Comet said, in between his chewing.

"She rushed past here just a minute ago. I wanted to ask her what's wrong, but she didn't answer." Mamiya said.

"In which direction did she ran?!" Asked the tug, happy to have some clue on the whereabouts of the destroyer.

"She ran north of here."  
"That's main junction...! She doesn't even know how dangerous it is up there! Put the rest of the berries in the fridge, I need to stop her before she races into the path of a train!" Said the tug boat, and rushed off.

 **Meanwhile, near the main junction**

Fubuki stopped running, but now, she had no idea where she was. Rodney's words still played in her mind, calling her weak, and not looking like a destroyer at all, and even though she had proven her worth to the others times and times again, she couldn't help but feel like she just wasn't worth being here; That she was just a hindrance for the others after all. She walked further north, past factories of all sizes and soon found herself between big, long objects, that stood tall and long in her way. The sky was already dark and filled gray clouds, and suddenly, the first rain drops fell from above. She looked around, and saw that one of the objects was open. She quickly got inside, and closed the door behind her, so that the upcoming wind wouldn't be blown inside. She looked around, but it was too dark to actually see something. Just then, the object started to shake a little. She got to the door again, and opened it a bit. She looked outside, first to the front, then to the back. When she turned to the back however, she was shocked to see that a small locomotive had coupled itself to the object, what turned out to be railway trucks. She wanted to get out, but the engine already started to move. Fubuki looked outside, seeing the surroundings move faster and faster past the open car door.

"Oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no! Please stop! I need to stay here!" She shouted, but the engine driver didn't heard her. She walked back inside the car, and sat down onto the cold wooden floor.

"Mutsuki, Yuudachi, Akagi... will I even see you again?" She pondered, tear running out of her eyes.

"Who said you will leave them?" Came a voice from behind her.

She turned around, and saw Comet, standing behind her, a warm smile on his face. She jumped up and hugged him, starting to cry.

"Come on now Fubuki, lets get home."

"But how? We are still moving?"  
Comet laughed at this.

"Yes we are, but only to the other siding! They needed that track clear for loading up food and ammunition! Come on! The next train to the wharf is set to move in 7 minutes, and the driver agreed to take us down to the docks!" Smiled the tug, and opened the door, reviling that the train had stopped. Fubuki now felt a bit foolish and blushed lightly.

"Hey now! No need to feel silly! I would've been scared as well if I didn't knew that this thing would only move a few yards forwards and back again." Said the Steam Tug calmly.

He jumped down, and helped her out, and walked with her towards a small goods train, with an old tank engine, with half open cab and gray, partly rusted paintwork, on which the letters "DOCKSIDE" stood.

"Hello there Chuck! Thanks for taking us home!" Smiled Comet.

"No problem Comet! Let's get you kids home!" Chuckled the elderly driver.

They both climbed into the warm cab, and slowly, the train started to move back towards the harbour. After a little while, they arrived back at the wharf, where, to the shock of the two ships, captain Walters and the admiral waited for them.

"Um, g-good evening, sir. I-I can explain everything" Said Comet, stuttering somewhat with a nervous smile on his face.  
"No need for that, we know what happened." Smiled captain Walters.

"Really?" Asked the two ships.

"Yes. The wharf manager saw everything from here, and called us right away. I thank you for looking out for one of my ships, young Comet. Your captain here also told me that you wanted to fight for the freedom of the sea as well, is that correct?" Asked the admiral.

"Y-yes sir. I know it is a foolish wish bu-"

"Then grab a good head of sleep and bring your railway barges to the loading bay at 6am tomorrow morning! You will need some firepower when you'll move out with the 3rd Torpedo squadron after all!" Said the admiral, shocking both Comet and Fubuki.

"Y-yes sir, of course sir, thank you sir!" spluttered Comet, not believing this was actually happening.

"Then I suggest moving along now you two! The mission briefing will begin tomorrow, 0800 hours." Said the admiral, and walked away, together with captain Walters.

"Do you really think that Comet will survive out there? He **is** a tugboat after all." Warned Walters.

"Don't worry John, he has determination, and the will to fight. Plus, I think he has his eyes on Fubuki..."  
"Wait, a tugboat? In love with a destroyer?! Come on now, not even I could come up with something as stupid as this!"  
"Oh, shut up! Go and tell your tugs to get some sleep! We need Boomer to bring a fresh load of fuel for the girls first thing in the morning! Good night John."  
"Good night sir."

And with that, John Walters walked off to the house of the steam fleet.


	2. Chapter 2

Comet soon reached the house, and went to his room straight away, to be well rested for his long run the following morning. He soon reached the door to his room, where the sounds of two other people could be heard from inside. He opened the door, to see two younger boys, both looking like they were still children, arguing about something. They stopped quickly though, when they saw the railway tug come in.

"Evening Comet!" They said simultaneously.

"Evening Mac, evening Rock." Said Comet happily.

"What got you in such an high mood?" Grinned Mac.

"The admiral allowed me to accompany the third torpedo squad tomorrow on their mission!" Answered the older tug, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow! But ain't you scared?" Asked Rock.

"Why should I?"  
"You don't have a strong hull like the battleships have, and you only have a small anti-aircraft MG. How will you help them?" Asked Mac.

"Captain Walters arranged everything with the railway. They are bringing railway guns down here, so that I can take them on my barges with me. Don't worry you two, I promise you I'll come back, and I always keep my promises, haven't I?" Smirked Comet.

With that, he changed into his nightwear (a light blue and white pajama) and got into his bed. After a while he finally started to sleep, but it wasn't a calm sleep, he was having nightmares all the time...

 _Comet was steaming over the open seas with the third torpedo squadron, when they were ambushed by an Abyssal convoy. He shot at them with his railway guns, but they just shrugged it off, and kept firing at him and the squad. Just then, he saw how one of the Abyssal broke away from the main group, and headed straight for Fubuki, firing its gun at her. She was hit heavily, but was still afloat, something the Abyssal didn't liked, because it already aimed again, and fired a second time. This time however, Comet didn't let him hit her. He cut off one barge, and rushed with the other towards Fubuki, pushing her out of the path of the shell, and taking the shot, firing at the enemy Destroyer himself, before getting hit by the shell. He felt a burning sensation, mixed with the water that suddenly seamed to swallow him. He opened one eye tiredly, seeing his barge tumble over, the railway gun falling off of it, its rope ripping, as he slowly sank, a final shout from Fubuki was all he could hear, as he slowly disappeared underneath the surface..._

"FUBUKI!" The tug boat shouted, raising from his bed, and hitting his head on the bunk bed over him.

"Urgh! Always the bloody..." He muttered, trying hard not to swear while the younger tugs were in hearing range.

He looked onto his watch, and noticed that it was already half past 6. He jumped out, and quickly got into his work suit, and made his way to the launching station. He got into his outfit, got his barges, and made his way to the loading bay, where a long black steam locomotive with two long railway guns stood, its driver standing near the edge of the bay.

"Are you the tugboat that's getting these?" Asked the man gruffly.

"Yes, that's me."  
"Take care of them. _Leopold_ and _Gustav_ shouldn't even be in operation anymore, so you can be lucky that we kept them in good condition. We'll load them up right away." Said the driver and returned to the cab of the engine.

After a few minutes, the guns were stored on the barges, and secured with strong chains. Comet slowly made his way back to the launching station, and stored his barges at the entrance. He wanted to put his outfit back into its place, but stopped when he noticed that Fubukis outfit was missing. He went out again, and saw her on the training course. He silently chuffed over to her, and when he was behind her, blasted his hooter at him.

"GOOD MORNING!" He said loudly, making her jump, and turn around, her cannons drawn towards his face.

"O-okay, not going to do that again." He said, as Fubuki lowered he cannons, sighting.

"What was that for?" She asked.

"I just wanted to say good morning. What are you doing out here already? Briefing is still more than one hour away." Said the tug.

"I'm always up this early. I'm not as experienced as the others, so I need to train every day, to make sure I don't hold everyone back. And what about you? Why are you up already?"  
"Picked up my weaponry for today's mission. I would usually be out and about for over 2 hours already, but because of the mission, the captain allowed me two more hours of rest."  
"How come I never saw any of you guys around when I do my morning training?"  
"We don't usually come across the training course or the newer docks. We usually work further north and east of here, where most of the factories are located, as well as up the river. Now come on, we better get some breakfast while we still can." Smiled Comet, and started to move off.

After a small breakfast, they made their way to the briefing room, where the other girls from the 3rd torpedo squad were waiting already. Comet was a little nervous around the ships, but felt calmer when he saw how friendly they were towards Fubuki. Just then, secretary ship Nagato came in.

"Good morning. Today, you will go out and assist a squadron from another naval district in scouting and weakening of the Abyssal territory further north east of here. You will also fight together with another ship, the tugboat Comet." She said, pointing at Comet, who waved slightly.

"Hello, I'm the railway tug Comet. I'm happy to fight with you." He said, bowing slightly.

"You will leave the port in 15 minutes. That is all." Nagato said, and the girls moved out towards the launching station.

"Why are they sending a tugboat with us? I never heard of a tugboat fighting before." Pondered Sendai.

"Well, that's probably because I'm the first one to actually fight for the freedom of the seas. It belongs to everyone, and therefore, should be free for traveling too! But if the Abyssal can't hear, they must feel." Explained the tug.

They soon were at the launching station, and got into their outfits. Comet picked up his barges, and got to the squadron.

"Alright! Let's do this." He smiled, and chuffed out of the port, the others following him.

"Pretty big weapons for such a small ship." Smirked Sendai, as she drew level with the tug.

"Yeah, and its quite heavy, but they **are** K5E railway guns after all, so its no wonder really. I just hope I can keep up with you girls." Puffed the steam tug.

"Don't worry, we won't move too far ahead of you poi." Said Yuudachi, as she passed the young ship.

"Just stick to Fubuki, and you'll be fine." Smiled Mutsuki.

"Aye, I will." Said Comet, and sped up a bit as Fubuki past him, maintaining the same speed as she.

They soon were out on the open see, and Comet was awestruck at the freedom: there were no other tugs, no canals, and no docks for miles! He whistled happily, as he chuffed behind the girls.

"This is **great**! I never felt so free before! Thank you Fubuki!" He shouted, making the special destroyer smile.

"Calm down Comet. We don't want the enemy to know we are on the move." Joked Fubuki, but she didn't knew how right she was...

Jintsuu, who was at the front of the cavalcade, was the first to notice the three dots, that were gradually gaining size.

"Looks like we found them." She smiled, but she was wrong, as suddenly, shells crashed into the water around her.  
"That isn't the other squad, its the Abyssal!" Shouted Naka, as more shells crashed all around them.

They got closer, and could now see the enemy more closely: A small convoy, of three destroyers, two battleships and one dreadnought.  
"Looks like it'll be a heavy battle..." Muttered Jintsuu.

"Look at the size of these things!" Gasped Comet.

"Keep calm! Try to fend them off, while we take them out!" Said Fubuki.

"I'm going in! Could you hold these?" Said Comet, and untied himself from his barges, placing them next to Fubuki.

"Stop! What do you think your doing?!" Shouted Sendai, but the tugboat didn't react, he just kept on charging right ahead, blasting his hooter.

"HEY! ABYSSAL! OVER HERE! BET YOU CAN'T SINK A 1920'S STEAM TUG!" He shouted, rushing up to the Abyssal, making a tight turn, and splashing water all over them, making them furious.

" _sink..._ " One of them said, and they all fired at the young tugboat.

Comet saw the shells, and smirked.

"Just as planned..." He muttered, and raced off. The Abyssal tried to get a right aim, but they just couldn't hit the tugboat. He just kept on rushing about, twisting and turning like he was ice-skating. Eventually, he got bored, so he made a narrow bypass, and splashed them once more, before returning to the squad, who just stood there, shocked about the tugs risky maneuver.

"Are you crazy?! They could've sunk you!" Mutsuki said.

"But they didn't, did they? And also, they have wasted more then half of their ammo trying to sink me, so we now have a better chance fighting them." The steam tug replied, and tied his barges back up.

"How could you move so fast, while you can barely keep up with us?" Asked Yuudachi.

"I didn't move any faster than I did before! I maneuvered around the shots, before they hit the water. It's just like back in the naval district, when there were many barges at once. You needed to see where the barges are moving, or they'll hit you all at once! Speed ain't necessary if you don't see where the enemies shooting." Explained Comet.

Just then, the Abyssal restarted their attack, but this time, the torpedo squad three fought back. Even though the Abyssal had more firepower, they still were outmatched by the tactical skills of the girls. Comet tried his best as well, firing his twin 28-cm cannons, and even hit one of the battleships twice. After a little while, all three destroyers and one battleship were destroyed, but the other two ships were still fighting. Comet was just readying his cannons for another volley, when the dreadnought fired three type 3 shells, which broke up in mid-flight, the shrapnel heading for the squad.

"SCATTER!" Jintsuu shouted, and they raced a different way, trying to get away from the shrapnel.

They were close to an small reef, where they could hid behind the rocks. Fubuki panted hard, and looked around: She couldn't see anyone, only the two enemy ships, as they slowly moved forward, still on the lookout for them. Just then, there came a small hiss behind her, and she turned around to see Comet, standing behind her, looking at the two ships, as the Battleship split from the dreadnought.

"How do you think we can stop them?" The destroyer asked.

"I think I know how we can do this. Listen, we simply..." And he told her his plan.

"Do you really think this will work?" Asked the young ship girl, a little nervous.

"If not, I had a pretty good live, and you should get the hell out of their sight. Any last words?" Joked the tug.

"Shut up." Said Fubuki, rolling her eyes.

"Ah yes, classic." He smirked, and hold out his hand.

Fubuki gripped it firmly, and Comet inhaled deep, letting out a very deep whistle. He rushed out, making a large cloud of steam behind him, large enough to cover Fubuki. The Abyssal started to shoot at him, but he simply moved before they could hit them, but he forgot about Fubuki. She narrowly avoided most of the shells, but one did scratch her.

"You holding out?!" Asked the tug.

"Y-yes! I'm alright!" She replied.

"Alright! Get ready!" He said, and accelerated even more.  
"NOW!" He cried, and Fubuki let go of him, making him shoot forwards towards the enemy ship.

When he got close enough, he braked hard, turning to the right, and creating a huge wave in front of the Abyssal, blinding them for a few seconds. Fubuki aimed at the wave and fired through it a few times, before stopping. The sound of firing could be heard from the other side, as shells flew towards her. She stood there, frozen in shock that it didn't work. When she noticed that she was about to get hit, it was already to late. But strangely, she felt as if she was pushed to the side, shortly before the shells hit the place where she stood just a second ago. She looked to her side, seeing Comet crashing onto the waves, his right barge ripped into two parts, and the railway gun partly destroyed. His suit was pretty damaged, and steam was escaping from several points in strong jets.

"Comet!" Fubuki shouted, rushing over to him and grabbing his hand.

"Come on Comet, get up! Please, you can't sink!" She shouted, tears forming in her eyes, as she heard a low groan, as Comet started to get up again.

"F-Fubuki... the Abyssal... Fire!" He groaned, aiming the second railway gun at the dreadnought.

Fubuki did as she was told, and fired simultaneously at the dreadnought. The shells crashed into the ship, destroying it completely. Comet smiled weakly, seeing the enemy ship sink.

"We did it. Good work." He said weakly.

"Why? Why did you push me away?! You could've sunk!" She shouted, tears now running.

"Heh, and letting a girl as cute as you simply sink? No way! Your five times more worth than I am. A tug can be replaced, especially a steam tug like myself. You however, are Fubuki, namesake of the Fubuki special destroyer class. You are important." He said, checking his half destroyed barge, not fully noticing that he just called her 'cute', although a faint blush grew on his cheeks.

"But you are important too! Think about your friends, back at the port! Or captain Walters! Or me..." She said, muttering the last part, as she started to blush as well.

"Huh? What? I am important to you?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes. Even though I only know you since yesterday, you already helped me so much in that short amount of time." She explained.

Just then, the others came up to them.

"Oh helllllooooooo! What do we have here? Are we interrupting something?" Asked Sendai cheekily with a wide grin on her face, as both the tugboat and the destroyer, jumped away from each other, both now blushing deep red.

"Did you destroy the dreadnought there?" Asked Jintsuu.

"Of course we did! It was only one dreadnought after all." Smirked Comet.

"Good work you two!" Mutsuki said, hugging her friend.

"Yes, but we should get going. The other squadron ain't going to be happy if we arrive even later than we already are!" Sendai said, and they all started off again.

 **Later that day...**

The rest of the mission went along pretty quietly. The scouting mission went over quickly, and they didn't encounter any mayor threats in the area, except the occasional patrolling destroyer. They soon returned back at the port, where they were expected with an warm welcome.

"We heard what happened when you encountered the convoy! Good work there!" Said Kongou with a wide smile.

"Rather impressive for a steam tug, I would say." Came the voice of captain Walters, who came up to Comet, smirking broadly.

"I knew it was a good idea to keep you steam tugs when I did." He said kindly.

"Everything for the sake of the free waters and the fleet sir." Saluted Comet.

"Well said boy! Now go and refuel yourself. You've earned it!" Laughed the captain, and saluted back.

After eating something and restocking on both coal and water, Comet made his way to the docks with his barge. The destroyed one needed a complete rebuild, and the railway gun needed some work as well. He was surprised however, when he found several workmen there with a whole bunch of new equipment.

"Good, your here. Let's get these equipped then." Said one of them, and started attaching a new anti aircraft gun, two torpedo holders and a 10cm gun at him.

"Wait, what's going on here?!" the tugboat cried.

"Orders from the admiral. You're getting an upgrade, along with your own gun and torpedo storage. You don't need to carry your barges with you into battle now." Explained one of the workmen.

"Wait, does that mean I'm going to be a real battleship now?!" Asked the young tug.

"Not completely. You still have your duties here in the port, but whenever the 3rd torpedo squadron moves out, you will join them in the battle. You will be rated as a destroyer, which means you will go into the same class as the other destroyers now." Explained the admiral, who stepped up to him.

"Yessir!" Smiled Comet broadly.

It was late afternoon when he finally moved out of the docks, his new 10cm cannon in his right hand. He chuffed to the training course, where he was surprised to see Fubuki already there, the hit from the battle already vanished.

"Huh? Already back on the water? I thought you were in the docks?" Asked the tugboat/destroyer.

"I got an instant repair bucket from the admiral... What happened to you?! Why do you have a gun and torpedo storage now?!" Asked Fubuki, shocked to see her friend with such heavy equipment.

"Surprise from the admiral. I'm now classified as a destroyer as well, and will be joining you in your classroom now. I will also help you on your missions in the future." Smiled Comet.

"But I still have a lot to learn, so I came here to train a bit with my new weapons. Just hope I won't hold everyone back..." He smiled weakly.

"Don't worry. I thought the same when I started fighting, but you see where I am now." Fubuki smiled, making the tug/destroyer smile as well.

"Your right! Now, on to try this here gun..." Smirked the tug, and started off, chuffing through the training course.

In his office, the admiral could see Comet rushing through the course.

"hehe, looks like things are going to change around here quite a bit. Let's see how he'll fight as a real warship." Chuckled the admiral, as secretary ship Nagato came into the room.

"Sir, we got news from the German convoy. The ships have just left the port of Hamburg, and should be here in about a month." She said.

"Good, good. Once they are ready, we can start the preperations for operation 'black flag'." Smiled the admiral, and looked out of the window, out onto the sea.

"Soon, it'll be free again..."


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few days and weeks, Comet was taken under the wing of the 3rd torpedo squadron. They showed him the basic manoeuvrers and how to fire his gun and torpedoes. Comet was a quick learner, and soon could fire his torpedoes like a real trained warship. But he had problems with his gun. Being a tugboat, he wasn't build to take the recoil of an 10cm gun, and so was always knocked off balance when he fired his gun. He tried to become stronger, but still, he couldn't take in the knock back of the gun. Over the time he trained with the girls, he was always observed by two people: The admiral, and Rodney. The admiral saw that the young tugboat had problems with his guns, and therefore contacted the factories if they could come up with something to replace the ten centimetre turret. Rodney on the other hand, was jealous of Comet's 'promotion' to a warship.

"Why should a clapped out steamship like him go out and fight?! Somebody like me would be much better suited for such work!" Fumed the railway tug, as he saw Comet fire his gun, just to nearly fall backwards again.

"Look at him! He can't even fire his gun properly without tipping over!" He scoffed.

"Yeah, and you wouldn't do better than him; you two are build from the same blueprints, only that you are diesel fuelled! So do us all a favour and SHUT UP!" Said a bigger tug next to him.

"I will show them what I'm worth, just you wait and see." Muttered the smaller tug, and oiled away, to get to his next assignment.

After a few hours, they decided to finish training so that Comet could refuel and get to his other duties. The small steam tug sighted as he sunk into his seat at the café.

"Ugh, that bloody turret! I wish I could go back to use my railway guns. At least with those I could fire two rounds without landing on my bunker every time..." Grumbled the tug, as he started eating his food.

"Cheer up Comet!" Smiled Mac, as he and his brother joined Comet at his table.

"We have news for you!" Grinned Rock, as he sat next to his brother.

"Spill it." Said Comet, happy to have at least some sort of distraction.

"Prometheus is coming back this afternoon!" Cheered the two switchers.

"Really?! Oh boy! That's great!" Cheered the railway tug.

Prometheus was one of the two ocean going tugs of captain Walters fleet, and was away for quite some time now, since he needed an overhaul. He was often regarded as an 'gentle giant' because of his size, strength and charming manner. He was one of the most respected tugs in the whole naval district, and even was respected by the Red Stacks!

"Captain Walters said he would arrive this afternoon with the sixth destroyer division." Said another, deeper voice, as a bigger tug sat down next to them.

"Ah, Bull, it's good to see you again. I thought you were working up river?" Asked Comet.

"I did. I finished this morning. Now its up to the railroad to finish their work there." Smiled the bigger tug, just as Mac and Rock perked up.

"W-w-wait! The sixth destroyer division is bringing in Prometheus?!" They nearly shouted.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. You two are in love with two of those girls." Smirked Comet.

"We're not!" The twins protested simultaneously.

"Suuuuurrrreeee." Grinned Comet, finishing his meal, and checking his watch.

"Well, I need to go. See you lot later, and if you see him before me, say 'hi' to Prometheus." Said Comet, and marched of to the launching station.

Once he got his equipment and his barges, he moved to his first stop. To his delight, there at the bay stood engine #23, with it's driver, Mr. Brady. Mr. Brady and his engine were the oldest working duo on the railroad that served the naval district. They were also the first who made friends with Comet and his steam tug friends. Comet always helped Mr. Brady to repair the old #23 whenever he found the time, since the old 4-8-0 was already over 90 years old. When he got the barges in place however, he was surprised to see that Mr. Brady wasn't as cheerful as he usually was. Once the trucks were on the tugboats barges, he steamed up to the locomotive.

"Good day Mr. Brady. Have you heard the news? Prometheus is coming back this afternoon!" Said Comet, trying to cheer the engineer up.

"Sounds good boy..." Said the engineer glumly.

"What's the matter, Mr. Brady?" Asked the Tug.  
"I got a letter from the management today. They said that by the end of the month, I will be retired." Said the man sadly.

"They can't do that! You gave them years of dedicated service! Surely they can draw it out for another few years!" Said Comet.  
"Sadly, they can't. They put a new maximum working age into action, and they said I'm already past it!" Sighted the engineer.

"It ain't fair. What will happen to #23 when your gone? Only you know how to work with her after all!"  
"She'll be retired as well. And if no buyer comes up, she will be scrapped." Said the man with a tear in his eye.

Just then, the wharf manager came up.

"Could you please move these barges? Rodney needs the space for his load."  
"Of course sir. Don't worry Mr. Brady! I think of something, I promise!"  
"Just don't do anything stupid kid. See ya around." Said the engineer glumly, and got back into the cab of the locomotive, getting the old engine moving.

Comet moved out of the wharf, deep in thought of how to help his old friend. He was so deep in thought, that he didn't notice Rodney move past him, but not towards the normal goods wharf, but towards the wharf where the military equipment was stored. He had made up a plan so that he would get some action himself. He moved up to the wharf, and blasted his air horn. A man walked up to him.

"Yes? What do you want?" He asked gruffly.

"The admiral send me. I'm here to pick up the railway guns." Rodney purred.

"Huh? He never said anything about somebody coming up to fetch them today." Murmured the man.

"That's because it is a secret special order, given only to a tug that can be trusted the most. That's probably why he didn't asked Comet to pick them up." Said the tug, sweetly.

"Hm, alright, if its the admiral who ordered it, then it must've been important. Get your barges in position, we'll bring them up right away." Said the man, and walked off, to get a shunting engine to shunt the railway guns onto the barges.

After a few minutes, the railway guns were loaded and secured.

"Alright, your ready to move." Said the man.

"Thank your for your cooperation. Tata." Oiled the tugboat, and moved off.

The workman glanced after the boat for a few seconds, before turning around and going to the wharfs office. He got inside and up to the telephone. He dialled a number, and waited till the called one picked it up.

"Hello? Nagato? Can you ask the admiral something from me please? This might be important..."

Comet was coming up to his final stop of the day. It was the small island that was in front of the entry of the naval district. Here, that people had started a small logging operation, and had placed a short logging railway for transportation of the logs. Comet was had placed his barges at the pier for the small tank engine to load its trucks onto the barges, and to get the empty ones off of them, when his radio perked up.

"Comet? Can you hear me?" It was Edwin, the oldest of the steam tugs. He was a paddle steamer, and in charge of transmitting messages via the radio to the tugs that were to far away to be called up to captain Walters dock.  
"Loud and clear, what's wrong Edwin?"  
"The admiral need to see you right away. He said its high priority that you get to the briefing room straight away." Said Edwin.

"But what about my delivery?" Asked the railway tug.

"Mac and Rock are already on their way to pick them up. Be quick now." Said the old paddle steamer, and cut the transmission.

"Hm, what could be so important that the admiral needs to pull me off my duties? Could it be that we need to move out again?" Muttered the tugboat, as he untied himself from his barges.

"Mac and Rock will take my barges back to the port!" Shouted Comet to the workmen on the pier.

"Alright! See you tomorrow Comet!" Shouted one of them back, as the tugboat steamed off.

When Comet reached the launching station, he was surprised to see that Rodney's outfit wasn't there.

"Huh? Is he late? He's usually finishes before me..." Pondered the tug, as he walked off to the briefing room.

He reached to room, knocked, and walked inside. He was surprised to see the rest of the third torpedo squadron there as well.

"You too huh?" He asked.

"Yes. But we don't know why." Mutsuki said.

Their questions were answered when not only secretary ship Nagato, but also the admiral stepped inside the room.

"Good afternoon. I'm sorry to pull you away from your duties, but there is a very serious situation at hand, that we need to take care of." Started the admiral, as he pulled out a map and opened it, waving the ships girls and tugboat over.

"I was called from the wharf manager of the wharf for military equipment roughly 45 minutes ago. He asked if I gave the order that a tug would collect the railway guns from the wharf. Of course, I did not gave such an order, so I called both captain Walters and captain Red, and asked if any of his tugs have yet to turn up at their tasked location. After a bit of calling and contacting, we found out that Rodney never picked up his trucks at the wharf. We expect that he took the guns, and went outside of the naval district." Explained the admiral.

"That bloody nitwit! He knows the dangers of going out there! What was that moron thinking." Grumbled Comet.

"Worse is to come. Captain Red explained to me that he hadn't had a proper refuelling since this morning. This is now more than 6 hours ago. His fuel tank however, can only hold fuel for 8 hours. Furthermore, the last radio signal we got from him was showing him in the north-western corridor. This region is currently in control of the Abyssal." Continued Nagato, pointing to the north-western part of the map.

"We need you to go out and find that tug, and bring him back, before he gets too close to the Abyssal and gets himself in even bigger danger." Finished the admiral.

"Don't worry sir, we make sure we get that dieselhead back before he can blow himself to bits." Grinned Comet.

After getting their equipment, they moved out, but Comet was stopped by Edwin, who came up to him, carrying something in a box.

"What is that?" Asked Comet.

"The admiral said its to replay your cannon. He said that they build it so that it has the same power as your 10cm turret, but with an easier to manage recoil." Said Edwin, and gave Comet the box.

The tugboat opened it, and pulled out what looked like a revolver, only that it looked bigger than a normal one, and had a very long barrel. He pulled it out and mockingly aimed at a tree that stood on the nearby island.

"Huh? A revolver? While I do like the concept of firearms, I don't think that the Abyssal will be that much impressed when I-" But he stopped quickly when he accidentally pulled the trigger, and the revolver fired.

The bang of the revolver was only overshadowed by the explosion when the projectile hit the tree, blowing it to pieces.

"On a second note, maybe this thing will be useful after all." Grinned the railway tug, as he noticed a letter that was in the box.

"Experimental weaponry for light ships #0001: Tug Revolver

 _This revolver is build to fire the same shells that are usually fired by the 10cm Twin High-angle Guns. With the better grip, provided through the actual grip, the recoil of the gun is drastically reduced, so that lightly build ships can fire the same type of shells are heavier build ones._

Hm, aka I can fire the 10cm shells with this baby. Why do they always need to write the description so long that nobody gets the point when they finished it? Ah well, better not ask. Thanks Edwin! See you later!" Chuffed Comet, as he started off after the girls.

"What took you so long?" Asked Sendai.

"And what's with the Revolver?" Asked Yuudachi.

"This thing is my new weapon. Same shell size, but with a more manageable recoil." Grinned Comet.

"Wow! Its so shiny!" Said Mutsuki.

"Well, it came right out of the factory, so I guess this is the trial run for this baby. But guessing from the first shot, this thing will hurt those Abyssal creeps more than you can think." chuckled the tug, as they moved further north west.

They split up after a while, and went in two teams: The Sendai sisters were one group, and Yuudachi, Mutsuki, Fubuki and Comet were the second group. They slowly made progress, but had yet to find Rodney.

"Do you think he is already at the islands?" Asked Fubuki.  
The Abyssal occupied territory included a group of islands, mostly small and unimportant, but ideal to hide a larger mass of enemy ships from the watchful eyes of the fleetgirls.  
"Well, let's hope so, 'cause other than that, there are only two other possibilities: either he ran out of fuel and is idling somewhere, or the Abyssal spotted him and are attacking him right now. I personally hope for the first two options." Grumbled the steamship, tightening his grip on his revolver.

They soon got near the islands, but even from their distance, they could hear the distant burst of an barrel, firing a shell, followed by another, and another, and another.

"I think the first two options are no longer an option." Sighted Comet, and got onto the radio.

"Sendai, this is Fubuki. It seams like we found him, and by the sound of it, he is fighting against the Abyssal. I'll send you the coordinates, please get there as soon as possible." Said the destroyer, and sent them the coordinates.

"We'll be there as soon as possible. Try to give him some cover till we arrive." Said Sendai, as she cut the transmission.

"Okay, let's get going. I just hope he still has some fuel left to move at least part of the way back to the district." Said Comet, and chuffed off.

Rodney was desperate. He had encountered a small group of 3 Abyssal destroyers, but was surprised when he couldn't sink them as easily as he thought he would. What he couldn't know was that the railway guns had only just been repaired, and hadn't been stocked up with ammunition. As for that, he quickly ran out of ammo, and had now been trying to escape the chasing enemy destroyers. But the more he ran, the more exhausted he got, and was nearly out of fuel. He rushed behind a small island, when he began to go slower, and slower, and slower, till he cruised to an halt. He had ran out of fuel. He began to panic, the destroyers would get him for sure this time, and would most likely sink him. He turned around with his last ounce of strength, and waited for his fate to come. The three destroyers came up to him, and aimed at him at point blanc range.

" _sink_ " One of them said, but before they could shoot, they were hit into the back.

The three destroyers turned around, just to be hit yet again by a barrage of shells. They were bombarded again and again, and one by one, the enemy ships were destroyed. Rodney couldn't believe what had just happened, and turned to the direction of where the shots came from.

"Thank you for your hellllllp..." He began, but was shocked to see that it was the third torpedo squad, and steaming upfront, with an large grin on his face, was Comet.  
"Well, well, well, looks like you needed help from the 'old fossil' yet again huh?" The steamtug grinned, but then got serious.  
"What the hell were you thinking?! You had no reason to take these guns, nor go out to bloody sea!" He growled.

"And? That didn't stopped you from going, did it? We diesel tugs are much better suited for real battles than you steamers are! We are better than you in everything, and we will show the admiral that you are on the way to the scrapyards!" Sneered the diesel.

"With the show you pulled today, its unlikely that the admiral will ever send you out to battle. Now come on. We need to get back to the port bef-" But the rest was cut out when a shell raced past them and blasted a crater into the island next to them.

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed as a group of 5 battleships rounded the bend of the island, their cannons aimed at them.

"Where did they come from?!" Shrieked Mutsuki.

"Looks like they were with the destroyers, and it looks like they're pretty pissed about the fact that we sank them." Said Comet nervously, before shacking that off.

"Mutsuki, Yuudachi, get this nitwit and the railway guns back to the port ASAP! We'll give you cover till your out of range." Ordered Comet.

"We can't leave you-"  
"This was NOT an question. That's an ORDER! Now GO!" Shouted the tug, as he reloaded his revolver, and started to fire at the ships.

"Fubuki?" Asked Mutsuki, looking at her friend.

"Trust him. We will give you cover." She said, a confident smile on her face.

"Let's go, Yuudachi." Said the destroyer, and they both grabbed Rodney and the barges, and started to tow them to safety.

"Are you sure we can do this?" Asked Fubuki.

"No. At least, not on our own. But we can at least distract them long enough to buy those three time, and wait till backup arrives." Said Comet, as he continued to fire at the ships.

"That doesn't sounds very promising." Said Fubuki.

"I know! But we can't do anything against it! Just keep up firing!" Said Comet.

They continued to fight, but the battleships had an easy game with the tugboat and destroyer. They kept hitting them, and slowly, both ships felt themselves sink deeper into the water.

'Come on guys! Where are you?!' Thought Comet, as he took yet another blow.

Just then, he felt both a cold sensation and a stinging, burning pain hit him, as he looked at his outfit, and saw a big hole in his firebox, with hot embers falling out of it, as well as a large, gaping wound, with blood spilling out of it.

"Ah crap, MY FIREBOX IS DAMAGED!" He shouted to Fubuki.

"IS THAT BAD?" She asked.

"VERY!" The tug replied, and loaded another row of 6 shells into his revolver, and resumed firing, this time with only one hand at his revolver as the other was keeping pressure on his wound.

Just then, the radio perked up.

"We're out of their guns range poi." Came Yuudachis voice.

"Get out of there quickly!" Said Mutsuki.

"Easier said than done, my firebox was hit, I don't think I can make enough steam to make it out of here." Chuckled the tug sadly.

"What do you mean by that?" Asked Mutsuki, worried.

"It means, say Prometheus sorry that I couldn't see him back." And he cut the radio link.

"FUBUKI! Get out of here! I'll cover you!" Shouted the tug.

"What?! I can't leave you here!" She shouted back.

"Don't care about me just go!" He shouted, and with the steam he still had in his boiler, rushed over to Fubukis position and started to push her out of the battle zone, the battleships on their tail.

"Come on girl! I can't push you all by myself!" Comet growled, as Fubuki finally started moving on her own.

When Fubuki had enough speed, Comet slowed down.

"Good bye Fubuki! It has been an honour to fight with you!" Shouted Comet, as he slowed to a stop.

"Wait! Don't do that! It's suicide!" Shouted Fubuki.  
"I rather have me sunk, than to have you go with me!" Came the reply, as the tugboat started to move towards the battleships.

He pulled up his revolver, and fired till he ran out of shells. He wanted to reload, but he was completely out of ammo. He put the gun into a pocket and scowled at the enemy battleships.

"If it needs to, I battle you with my bare fists!" He shouted at them, and rushed up towards the Abyssal, preparing his torpedos.

The battleships got ready to blow the small tugboat out of the water, but before even one shot could be fired, they were hit by a large barrage of shells. Both Comet and Fubuki watched in awe and shock, as the battleships were destroyed.

"They finally came." Sighted Comet, and turned around, expecting to see the Sendai sisters, but was surprised to see a large convoy of ships, leading them was the sixth destroyer division, and a large tug, with sunglasses, small moustache and a gentle smile.

"Just in time, wouldn't you say my dear Comet?" Said the tug smoothly.  
"I would rather call it 'better late than never', but its good to see you again Prometheus." Grinned the tug, as he shook hands with the bigger tug.  
"But where did the extra firepower come from? It was way to heavy to come from the destroyers." Asked Comet.

"Dies war unser verdienst." Came a German voice, as a row of battleships and a cruiser moved up to the tugboat.

"Comet, please meat the 'Kommando Störtebeker' Battleship Tirpitz and Bismarck of the Bismarck-class, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee of the Deutschland-class, Prinz Eugen of the Admiral-Hipper-class and Scharnhorst of the Scharnhorst-class. The admiral has called them in for a special operation, and we met them on the way." Smiled the large tug, as the German battleships moved up.  
"So you are the tug that wants to be a fighter? Welcome to the fleet then!" Smiled Bismarck, as she hugged the small tug.

"Ugh, thanks, Ms. Bismarck. Uhhh, air!" The young tug panted, as the large battleship squeezed the air out of him.

"Ups, Entschuldigung." Grinned Bismarck sheepishly.

"No harm done." Smiled the tug, but winced slightly when the pain from his wound made itself noticable again.

"Hmm, I wouldn't say so. You look like you could need some downtime in the docks." Mused Tirpitz.

Just then, the rest of the torpedo squad three arrived.

"Sorry we couldn't come sooner, he slowed us down." Said Sendai, pointing at the Red Stack tug.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but you missed the party." Chuckled Comet.

"Who are you? More fans that want Naka-chans autograph?" Asked Naka, as she looked at the German battleships.

"How about we get to your base first? We'll explain everything on the way." Suggested Prinz Eugen.

"Good Idea. Um, Prometheus, would you mind giving me a tow? My firebox got blown." Chuckled the younger tug sheepishly.

"Of course my dear." Said the bigger tug smoothly, grabbing the smaller tugboat, and started to pull him back to the naval district.

They slowly arrived at the district, and were greeted by the admiral, captain Walters and Red, and the tugboats of both the Steam fleet and the Red Stacks.

"Congratulations! You did a good job today, all of you! 'Kommando Störtebeker', it is good to see that you arrived here save and sound. Your quarters are in building #4, the rooms are signed with your names. Mutsuki, Yuudachi, would you be so kind and show them the way?" Asked the admiral.

"Of course sir!" Saluted the two destroyers, and walked off with the group following behind.

"Now, the rest of the third torpedo squadron can go refuelling and replenish their ammo, with the exception of Fubuki and Comet." Said the admiral, as the rest of the squadron walked off to Mamiya's café.

"Now, Fubuki, Comet, you shall go to the docks and get repaired, and afterwards, you'll take a long rest. You did more than enough for today." Smiled the admiral kindly.

"Thank you sir." Saluted the two ships, and walked off to the docks.

The admiral now turned to Prometheus.  
"Prometheus, my old friend. It is good to have you back again. I hope they did a good job."

"Of course sir. It is great to be back with my friends again." Smiled the tug.

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, captain Walters and the Steam fleet have organized a little celebration at your home, so you should hurry along." Said the admiral, whispering the second part and winking at the tug.

"Very well sir." Said the tug smoothly, and walked over to the Steam fleet, who greeted the returned friend with handshakes and pats on the back.

"Oh yes, and then there was the tug who ran away." Said the admiral coldly as he turned to Rodney, who was trying to sneak away.

"Rodney. Today, you showed how stupid, uncooperative, and childish you really are. You were jealous of Comet, and tried to play the hero. And not only did you brought yourself into danger, you nearly caused the destruction of two precious world war two relics!" Boomed the admiral.

"But sir! I only wanted to show that we diesel tug-"  
"And there you go again! As far as I can see, today you showed everyone else that diesel tugs are not only inferior towards steam tugs, you also showed that you can't be trusted to go beyond the gates of the naval district! You can be lucky that, in my eyes, steam tugs, as well as diesel tugs have the same level of worth at this district, and nothing is going to change that. I always knew you were jealous of the steam tugs, and I always hoped you would come to sense. Sadly, this isn't the case. That's why I and captain Red have decided that you shall be removed from this naval district, and you shall be moved to the reserve base, at the Hokkaido naval district." Said the admiral coldly, as Rodney's eyes widened.

"Y-you must be joking." He spluttered.

"No, this is the truth. Tomorrow morning, two escort ships will come in to bring you to the base. Be ready at 7am sharp, and don't try any tricks. Good day." Said the admiral, and turned on his heel, walking back to his office.

Rodney turned to captain Red.

"Please sir! You can't do this!" He begged.

"No Rodney. I have had enough with your dangerous acts! We might be competing tug fleets, but this went too far. This is your own fault, so you need to take to consequences." Said the Red Stacks captain firmly.

"G-guys?" Rodney turned to his now ex-colleges, but they either just looked to the ground, stared at him with cold expressions, or looked away entirely.

Rodney was at a loss for words. He just stood there, his mouth agape and his mind blank. Slowly, the Red Stacks walked off, leaving the shocked tug where he was. Rodney looked around, his eyes fell onto the steam tugs, that walked off with their returned friend to his welcome back party.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS STEAMERS! YOU WILL PAY!" He shouted, but his shout fell on deaf ears...

The next morning, Rodney was picked up by a group of military tugboats. Rodney had tried over the course of the night to escape, but the admiral had put guards on the launching station, so that he couldn't get inside. Once he was out of the mouth of the districts entry, the admiral sighted. He hoped he'd never needed to send a ship away, but sadly, that was not the case. He tried to get his mind of the topic and went to his work. The factory wanted to have the results of the revolver, so they could produce more of them, for other ships. He also needed to sign the paperwork for the preparations of operation 'Black Flag'. Just then, he remembered something that Comet had said to him last night. He shuffled through the papers on his desk, and found a letter from the railway. After re-reading their offer a few times, he nodded his head, and signed the piece of paper.

"Nagato, could you come in please?" He called.

"Yes sir, what is it?" She asked, as she stepped in.

"Could you bring this letter to the mailbox? I'm a bit busy right now." He said.  
"Of course sir." She said, and took the letter.

Shortly after she left, Ooyodo came in, looking distressed.

"Sir! This just came in! The escorted transportation to Hokkaido had been attacked by the Abyssal! They said that the escort ships could escape, but they lost Rodney in the rush!"  
"Oh dear. The poor tug." Muttered the admiral.  
"Your orders sir?"  
"We can't do anything for him. If he really was lost in the escape, we can't help him, even if we want to." Sighted the admiral.

 **Elsewhere...**

Rodney stirred, and woke up. Just then, an unbearable pain shot through his body.  
" _Good, you are awake_ " Came a voice.

Rodney opened his eyes, and looked around. He was surrounded by Abyssal ships, all of them eyeing him with expressionless faces. His heart began to pump wildly, as he started to tremble in fear.

"Please don't sink me!" He squeaked.  
" _Look how scared he is. He's so cute!_ " Chuckled a voice.

"What do you want from me?" The Red Stack asked.

" _We remember you. From yesterday. You were the fool who tried to attack us without backup._ " Said one of the battleships.

"Yes, so what?" He sneered.

" _Why were those escorts taking you away?_ " Asked a destroyer this time.

"The threw me out! Just because of this moron of an steam tugboat Comet and his little girlfriend Fubuki." Growled the tug, as the Abyssal hissed.

" _What did you say?_ " Asked a Carrier.

"That they threw me out!" He shouted.

" _Their names!_ " Boomed another Carrier.

"Comet and Fubuki."  
" _You hate them, don't you?_ " Asked the battleship from before.

"Yes. I hate them! I want to repay them for what they have done to me!" He snarled.

" _We can help you with that._ " Purred the battleship.

"Why should I trust you? You nearly destroyed me yesterday after all!" The tug asked, suspicious.

" _You have nothing to lose, don't you? Your friends betrayed you, and your admiral sent you away in disgrace. We can help you become a real fighter. A real hero..._ " Purred the ship again.

Rodney thought about it for a while, and then smirked.

"Tell me _more_..."


	4. Chapter 4

With the "Kommando Störtebeker" now at the naval district, the admiral gave orders out to move large amounts of reserve supplies up from the rearward reserve lines. Moving in from both rails, trucks and boats, these supplies were distributed all across the district, stored in warehouses, on board of rail cars in sidings, and in barges. Both the Steam Tugs and Red Stacks were working around the clock, moving barges to and from loading stations and warehouses, while the fleet girls trained and made further expeditions into Abyssals territory. One afternoon, the smallest of the steam tugs, the switchers Mac and Rock, were working together, getting some supplies from several trucks, when Edwin called them via their radio.

"Mac, Rock, there has been an urgent delivery of parts for the factories, we need Mac to bring them in from the docks at the rail yards. Rock, we need you to take care of the supplies until one of the others can be spared."

"Alright, will do Edwin." Replied Mac, as he untied his barges, and started to steam off towards the rail yards.

He quickly got to the docks, and tied himself to the barge of parts. With an loud blast of his hooter, he steamed off, towards the factories. The factories were built in between the older parts of the harbor. Plenty of these warehouses were run down or completely closed from the public, and while worked had already started to rebuilt or repair these old warehouses, it would still take a long time until it would finally be finished. As he got closer to the factories however, he groaned as he saw the two switchers of the Red Stacks, Ricky and Ronald, waiting for their barges to be completely loaded.

"Hehe, look Ronald, it's the smallest of the kettles!" Laughed Ricky, as the larger one of the two laughed.

"Yeah, so weak, he can only transport one barge at a time." Commented Ronald.

"At least I don't need to cheat and steal so that my fleet gets contracts." Retorted Mac.

"Hey hey hey, where did you get that from? We never cheat! We're not some dirty, old, floating rust bucket, unlike a certain, out of date fleet of steamers." Sneered Ricky.

"Yeah, and we never lie!" Defended Ronald.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you need to be clever to lie." Laughed Mac, as the two Red Stacks got as red as their base caps in anger.

"Ugh, I'm going to make you eat your stack for that!" Growled Ricky, but the situation was diffused from the crane operator, telling them that their barges were finished.

"Huh, lucky you steamer. Come on Ronald, let's go." Said Ricky, and oiled off, sulking.?

Mac grinned, and shunted the barge inside of the factory. It was getting fairly late, so Mac had to close the gates to the factory himself.

He started to trundle home, when he passed the training grounds, seeing both Fubuki and Comet, training with their equipment after it got repaired. The small tug gave a friendly blast of his hooter, which was replied by the destroyer and tug/destroyers own ones. After getting to the launching station and leaving his outfit there, he returned to the Steam Tugs home, where his brother and the other tugs were already eating dinner. Since they all had American tugboat souls inside of them, they usually ate American food. Tonight's dinner was simple, just some spaghetti and meatballs.

"I'm back!" He called.

"Welcome home Mac, did everything go well?" Asked Edwin.

"Yes, had a little run in with the Ricky and Ronald at the factories. I showed them that they shouldn't mess with a Steam Tug though." Smiled Mac.

"Hehe, that's a good tug! We're showing these clowns what we're worth!" Laughed Boomer, his voice proving his name right as it boomed through the room.

After their dinner, the tugs retreated to their rooms, and went to sleep.

Comet and Fubuki hadn't noticed how late it got, and only finished their training after the night had set in. They were slowly steaming back towards the launching station.

"Ugh, I can't believe we trained so long." Sighted Fubuki, her stomach growling for food.

"Yeah, not even double car ferry duties tucker me out like this." Puffed Comet, as they slowly went across the bay. When they got closer to the older warehouses however, they saw how the gates to the factories were open.

"Huh, I thought Mac closed them after he dropped that barge here." Frowned Comet, not used to Mac being so careless as to leave such a gate open.

He got to the gate and went to close it, but was in for a surprise when he saw that there wasn't a barge there!

"Huh? Did they already unloaded the barge and sent it away again? The whole districts seems to be doing overtime since these supplies get stored here..." Muttered the tug/destroyer, as he got back to Fubuki, and both went on their way to the launching platform again.

Neither of them could see a mysterious shadow that disappeared deeper into the older dock complex, a barge full of parts in tow...

The next morning, Ricky and Ronald were on their way to pick up some barges for a contract out of the older dock complex. They passed the factories, and looked inside, seeing that the barge that had been brought in by Mac yesterday was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, look at that! The barge from the old claptrap is gone!"

"Huh? But how is that possible? It couldn't just move on its own."

"No you idiot! That steamer must have taken it with him so that he could sell the parts for a higher price than they would get out of the contract!" Scolded Ricky.

"But isn't that something we usually do?" Asked the bigger one.

"Yes, but we only steal from the Steam Tugs contractors, not from ours. Come on, let's report that to the admiral!" Grinned Ricky, and rushed off, Ronald following closely.

They soon found the admiral, and reported the missing barge.

"Thank you for your information, but the factories already have informed me about the missing barge. Now, if that was all, please get back to your assigned duties. We have plenty to do and barely enough time to do it." Said the admiral, as the two tugs exited the office.

Meanwhile, at the Steam Tugs home, Captain Walters was scolding Mac for not delivering the parts like ordered, and ordered him on garbage duties around the district as a punishment.

"But I did deliver those parts!" Grumbled Mac.

"Well well well, look here Ronald! If it isn't a dirty, little thief! Better stay away from those! They could steal the fuel out of your very tank!" Taunted Ricky as he and Ronald passed the steam tug with some barges.

"Uh, why would he do that? He doesn't needs any fuel, he runs on steam." Asked Ronald, as Ricky just groaned, and continued on his way, Ronald following with an confused look on his face.

"I didn't steal anything! I delivered those parts!" Exclaimed Mac, as he rammed the garbage barge in front of him in anger.

"But you did leave the gates to the factories open, so it might've floated out of it, and that is your fault." Said Comet, as he passed Mac with his railway barges. With Rodney now absent from the Naval base, he was rushed from car ferry duty to car ferry duty, and had barely any time for training, which is why he usually had to train after work.

"Huh? What do you mean by that? I closed the gates and locked them after I left the barges inside the factory." Asked Mac.

"When I returned from training with Fubuki, we passed the factories and saw that the gates were open, I closed them, but there wasn't a barge in there. I thought that they had already sent it away after emptying it." Explained Comet.

"But that means somebody has stolen the barge!"

"Hm, and you are sure you closed the gates after dropping the barge there?" Asked Comet.

"Yes! By the good name of our fleet!"

"Alright, alright, I believe you. But if somebody really stole it, then who was it, why did he stole it, and where did he take the barge?" Asked Comet.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Chuffed Mac, as he started to tow the garbage barge towards his next destination.

However, Mac had so much to do over the day, collecting garbage from across the naval district and the adjacent parts of the harbor, that by the time he could get to investigate the matter, it was already nighttime. With a sight, he moved back towards the launching station, got out of his outfit, and went back to the house.

"Hello young Mac. Ugh, be a kind fellow and take a bath, alright? You smell worse than Boomer usually does when he does the garbage detail." Huffed Churchill, the second ocean going tug of the fleet. He was a bit pompous, but still very helpful and tried to keep the image of their fleet on the upmost standard.

"Don't you start that as well! I already had to argue with Ricky and Ronald, and Richard and Roger wouldn't leave me alone while I was picking up the garbage at the cafe!" Sighted Mac as he moved off to the showers.

While Mac was finishing his night, Comet was still out on the waters with Fubuki. They were in the hiding near the factories, keeping a lookout for the thief.

"Are you sure he's going to show up?" Asked Fubuki.

"Not really. But if Mac really said the truth, and if a thief is really lurking around here, then we have to catch him, before he can steal any further supplies." Said Comet with a frown.

"But we have our duties to do tomorrow. I have an expedition with the others at 9, and your duties can't wait eith-"

"Shhhh! Did you hear that?" Hissed the tugboat, as they both got silent. Through the night, a low puffing could be heard.

"That sounds like a steam engine." Whispered Fubuki.

"Yes, but the rail lines around here are for the most part abandoned. And the others are all back home." Replied Comet, as the puffing got louder.

From around a bent, a figure slowly moved across the waters, coming to a stop in front of the factories gates. They watched as the figure opened the gates, and slid inside, coming out only minutes later, a pair of barges in tow.

"Mac has said the truth! That thief is stealing barges!" Grumbled Comet.

"What should we do?" Asked Fubuki.

"Simple." Said Comet, and before Fubuki could ask any further, he blasted his hooter loudly, making the thief stop in his tracks.

"Hold it right there thief! Return those barges and hand out the ones you stole already!" Shouted Comet, but the figure had other ideas. He shot off, quickly making distance between himself and the destroyer and tugboat.

"Quickly! After him!" Said Comet, and blasted his hooter again, rushing after the thief, Fubuki quickly following, however, as soon as the figure disappeared into a canal, she had to stop.

"I can't follow him through those! I'd get stuck!" She said.

"Cursed! Stay right here! I'll catch him!" Replied Comet, entering the canal system. However, the thief seemed to know his way around the canals, and soon, Comet had to abandon the chase as well, being somewhere in the deeper parts of the canals. He looked around, seeing how above him, the railroad crossed the canals. He pondered for a few seconds, before nodding, smiling about his idea.

"This could help. Yes, this could really help right now." Muttered the Tugboat, before turning around and heading back to the entry of the canal system.

"Did you catch him?" Asked Fubuki.

"Nope, he got away. But I have an idea to prevent it from happening a second time." Mused the tugboat, as the two made their way back to the launch station.

 **Meanwhile, inside an old warehouse...**

A figure slowly floated into the covered docks of the warehouse, where several barges were already stored.

"You managed well. Until now." Came a voice, as two further figures walked from deeper within the warehouse.

"I got the barges, didn't I?" Asked the first figure.

"You got caught. That tugboat and the silly destroyer were after you when you took the last few barges from the factories."

"I lost them. They didn't catch me, so there isn't any problem. Now let my uncle go!" Growled the figure.

"No. You will get us another barge. High quality fuel. They are delivering it tomorrow by train, and transfer it onto a barge."

"But you promised that this would be the last one!" Protested the floating figure.

"Maybe you don't care for your uncle that much? Maybe we should just scrap him?"

"No, wait! ...I'll do it. But this will be the last one!" Said the figure, as it left the barges, and moved out of warehouse, into the night.

"She won't put up with this for much longer. We should prepare to make our escape Ludo."

"Agreed Viktor."

The next morning, the admiral gathered both captain Walters and Captain Red in his office.

"As you may have noticed, several barges have gone missing across the harbor. So far, there have been four barges worth of parts from the factories, three barges worth of fuel and one barge worth of ammunition gone missing. I believe that there is a thief running around, and we have to stop him. If not, it could interfere or even destroy our plans for operation 'Black Flag'." Stated the admiral.

"What do you expect to do sir?" Asked captain Red.

"Yesterday evening, tugboat Comet and destroyer Fubuki saw how a steam tugboat stole a pair of barges from the factories. Although they tried to stop the fleeing boat, it disappeared somewhere in the older parts of the canal system. We believe that the thief, and the stolen supplies are hiding within one of the warehouses in the canals. Our plan is to lure the thief out via a false fuel barge, and surround him before he can escape. If that plan fails, we have to follow him through the canal system to his hideout. For that, we need to set up patrols within the canals." Explained the admiral.

"Well sir, the Steam Tugs will be more than happy to help in any way we can." Said captain Walters.

"Excuse me sir, but I believe my Red Stacks are a better choice in this situation. After all, it is a steam tugboat we are after, so a diesel tug would be better suited to catch up with such an older type of boat." Retorted captain Red, casting a mischievous look at captain Walters.

"Actually, I will need both fleets. The Red Stacks might be faster, but is too small to cover the complete canal system, and we need to keep the harbor operations going alongside our little 'pirate hunt'. We will set up parts of both fleets in the canal system, while some of the fleet girls will protect the fuel barge at some distance, so that the thief thinks he can get away without problems." Said the admiral.

"Very well sir." Sighted both captains. They knew their tugboats wouldn't like that.

The admiral returned to his seat and went through the plan once more. He then remembered the little suggestion Comet made when they discussed the plan last night. It was a risky maneuver, but it would give them the upper hand in case that they really would need to chase the thief in the canals.

"I hope Allan knows his way around the canals..." Sighted the admiral, as he got back to his paperwork.

Around mid afternoon, the preparations were complete. The barge was towed to an certain location near the currently used warehouses. It was in good visible distance to the locations of the fleet girls, and not too far away from the entrance to the canal system so that it wouldn't scare the thief away. Within the canal system, the tugboats were waiting for the thief to pass by.

"Boooooring!" Groaned Rock.

"I'm happy when we finally got that thief! He'll think twice before giving me a bad name once I'm through with him!" Said Mac.

"But still, all this waiting is making my pistons rust! Can't we just go a little bit around the canal?"

"And what if the thief comes by while we're gone? No way! We'll stay right where we are!" Retorted Mac.

"Oh come on, we'll be back in a- hey, look up there!" Called Rock, and pointed above his twin.

The other tugboat turned his head to the sky, and gasped when he saw a big, black and green steam locomotive, slowly crossing the bridge above them, pulling one single flatbed truck behind him, on which, a familiar tugboat stood, dressed in full deployment gear.

"Comet!" The two switchers shouted, as the railway tug waved at them, before the train disappeared between two warehouses again.

"Come on! Let's see what he's doing on that train!" Shouted Rock, and steamed off before Mac had a chance to speak.

"Ugh, the others will be mad when they hear about this..." Sighted Mac, as he followed his brother.

They followed the tracks, and soon found the train, this time right next to their canal, slowly moving forwards, the driver inside the locomotives cab checking the waters along with the tug on the flatbed behind him.

"Comet! What are you doing up there?!" Shouted Rock, as he pulled up alongside the train.

"I'm playing 'eye in the sky' for the others! I got the idea when I saw the railroad bridge spanning over the canal last night! The tracks go right above the canal, so we can see where the thief is, and where he is moving to! And if he moves somewhere where we can't reach with the rails, I can quickly jump off and follow him on the water!" Explained the railway tugboat.

"But won't the railroad be angry if you use one of their engines without their knowledge?" Asked Mac.

"Well, they would be, if this was their engine." Laughed the engineer.

"The admiral bought the engines as the fleets own engine! Mr. Brady came along with her! The navy agreed to the acquirement when we stated that we'd need her as a shunting engine to pull the trucks from the barges!" Grinned Comet, as they moved across the tracks. Up ahead of them, a bridge was shared by the rails and the road. They thought they had a clear path, when from out of nowhere, a truck curved onto the shared section of road and rail, shortly ahead of the train. Mr. Brady braked the train hard, making Comet fall onto his face on the flatbed.

"Ouch! What happened?!" Asked Comet as he picked himself up.

"Some lunatic driver verged into our path shortly ahead of us!" Shouted Mr. Brady back.

"Are you alright Comet?!" Asked Mac.

"Yes, I'm alright! You two should head back towards your lookout post and watch out for the thief!" Replied Comet, as Rock suddenly whistled in alarm.

"I think that's him!" Whistled the young tug, as all three tugboats looked ahead, seeing a tug slowly crossing their path ahead of them.

The tugboat looked towards them, seemingly jumping out of its skin when it noticed it was discovered, and quickly rushed off down the canal.

"Quickly, after him!" Shouted Comet, as the twin tugboats whistled in reply and shot off.

Comet jumped from the flatbed, landing on the water and creating a rather large wave that washed over the stationary train and the surrounding warehouses.

"Keep moving and keep up the radio conversation! We need to know where he's heading to!" Called Comet, as he raced after the twins and the thief.

"Will do young one!" Called the engineer, after spitting out some salt water.

Comet, Mac and Rock quickly chased after the mysterious tugboat, thankful that the train continued to give them information about the direction if the runaway tug.

"Hey Mac! I've got a job for you! Go left here and then follow us in the canal over there! Try to overtake him and cut off his path!" Called Comet as the younger tug nodded, taking a sharp turn and carrying on towards the parallel running canal.

Comet accelerate further, but the distance between him and the other tug shrunk only slightly.

'Mac won't be able to overtake him if we keep at this speed. We need to slow him down!' Frowned Comet, as he looked at both sides of the canal.

Ahead of them, several pipes crossed the canal above them. Comet quickly grabbed his revolver and aimed at the pipes. With a well aimed shot, the pipe shattered, several pieces falling into the water, making the thief slow down to prevent crashing into them. However, now the pieces were in their path as well.

"Comet!"

"Don't worry, I got this!" Called the railway tug, as he moved ahead of the smaller tug.

With a harsh crashing sound, Comet rammed into the pipes, pushing them out of the way for Rock to safely pass through. The thief tried to gain speed again, but that was stopped as Mac raced into his path.

"Stop you thief!" Shouted the switcher, as the thief braked hard.

He tried to turn around and escape into the other direction, when Comet and Rock came up behind him, the railway tug quickly grabbing him by the shoulders and keeping him restrained.

"You're not going anywhere!" Said Comet.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Growled the tug. All three tugs were surprised when they heard that it was a female tugboat. She wore a light blue outfit with white stripes, and hid her brown hair underneath a light blue hat. She glared at the tug restraining her with her green eyes.

"Calm down will you? Where have you taken the barges? And why did you steal them in the first place?" Asked Comet.

"I had to! They have my uncle! They said if I don't do what they say, they're going to cut him up and sell him for parts!" Said the tug.

"Who took them?" Asked Mac.

"They call themselves 'Viktor' and 'Ludo'. I don't know what they look like, all I know is that they always wear those large, green glowing goggles." Explained the female tug.

"Well, in that case, we should help you with your situation." Stated Comet.

"Why would you want to help me? After all, I am the one responsible for creating mistrust and confusion around here."

"You were forced to do something you didn't want to do, by people who obviously chose to go down the wrong path of the law. And while you indeed made a mistake, it was to make sure someone dear and close to you wouldn't be harmed. But we should hurry now, and catch those thieves. I have a slight feeling that that truck we passed earlier has something to do with those two." Said Comet.

"You mean they want to get away from here?" Asked Mac.

"Aye, so we better move quickly. Ms..., um, pardon me, but what is your name?"

"My name is Rebecca."

"Alright, Ms. Rebecca, please lead the way."

The four tugs slowly made their way through the canals, Rebecca moving a bit of a distance ahead of the three other tugs.

"Hey Comet, why do you trust her like that? She could fool us, and kidnap us instead." Whispered Mac.

"Why do you think I keep us a distance away from here? I want to make sure that she doesn't stabs us in the back while we're next to her." Whispered Comet back, but stopped when he nearly bumped into the back of Rebecca.

"We're here. That's the warehouse where they keep the stolen barges and my uncle." Said Rebecca.

"Hm, rundown and shabby. I understand why they keep the barges in there. Nobody usually wanders this far into these parts anymore." Commented the railway tug.

"How do you think we should continue?" Asked the female tug.

"Well, first, we'll stay here." Said Comet, and reached for his radio.

"Calling Casey Jones, calling Casey Jones."

"Here is Jones, what is it Mississippi steamer?" Asked the voice of Mr. Brady.

"The Cannonball is in Vaughn. Pick it up as soon as possible. We'll make sure that the bridges are closed for you."

"Alright, Jones out."

"Steamer out."

"What's with that code?" Asked Rock.

"Just in case our radio equipment is rigged, I made a code system to make sure that nobody would figure out which way the train takes." Explained Comet, as they returned to watch the warehouse.

However, to the surprise of the four tugboats, out of another canal came Ricky and Ronald.

"I'm sure they headed this way. We'll find the barges and those steamers will get punished for cooperating with that thief!" Snickered Ricky.

"Are you sure you saw them head this way? I can't see anybody!" Asked Ronald.

"Of course I have nitwit! They are sure to be here somewhere..." Growled the smaller tug, as both got silent.

However, as they passed the warehouse, they could hear the sound of machinery, working inside the old building.

"Did you hear that?! That's them! Ohhhh, we got them now Ronald!" Grinned Ricky, as they both positioned themselves in front of the warehouse.

"They're not really going to storm the warehouse, are they?" Asked Rebecca.

"They are foolish, stupid and don't plan ahead. I'd bet on it that they storm it." Said Mac, while Rock and Comet nodded.

"STEAMERS! WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN THERE! SURRENDER AND RETURN THE BARGES, OR GET BEATEN BY THE SUPERIOR FORCE OF THE RED STACKS!" Shouted Ricky, but he got no reply.

"Very well, let's charge! One, two, three, CHARGE!" Called Ricky, as they rammed against the closed wooden gates, smashing them to pieces. A few seconds later, a loud crashing could be heard.

"Alright, looks like the plan just went to the fishes. Let's go and help those nitwits and stops the thiefs." Sighted Comet as the four steam tugs rushed to the rescue.

When they came up to the warehouse, they could see what had happened. The thieves had prepared themselves and hitched a few heavy machinery parts above the gates. Once Ricky and Ronald charged inside, the ropes keeping the parts up were cut through, and fell onto the two, successfully knocking them out. The thieves had loaded as much as they could of the supplies onto their truck, and we're preparing to leave.

"Stop it right there you thieves! Return the supplies and hand out the tugboat at once!" Shouted Comet, but the thieves didn't care. They jumped into their truck and started to drive towards the exit.

"No! We have to stop them! Uncle!" Shouted Rebecca, looking around for something to stop the thieves.

She found the 'something' in form of Comets revolver. She quickly took it and aimed at the truck. Comet, alarmed and surprised, tried to get the revolver back.

"No, stop! Those are-" but he had no time to finish. Rebecca fired the gun, but the recoil was so great, that it forced her arm upwards, before the shell could completely leave the barrel.

The shell flew above the truck, and hit a support beam, making it explode into fragments. The roof, now without the support of the beam, groaned, and started to collapse.

"Oh drat! Everybody, let's get out of here!" Shouted Comet, grabbing both Ricky and one of the supply barges that still had their cargo.

Mac, Rock and Rebecca all did the same, grabbing Ronald and the remaining few barges that still had their cargo, and pulled them outside of the warehouse, as the roof came crashing down to the ground. Comet quickly grabbed his radio, and contacted Mr. Brady again.

"Casey Jones, come in Casey Jones!"

"Here Jones, what's the matter?"

"The Cannonball's a runaway. Stop him at the bridge! We'll be there and give it a blow if you can't get there in time!"

"Will do! Good luck! Jones over."

"Steamer over." Comet put the radio away and turned to the others.

"Mac, Rock, stay here and protect the barges and our two sleeping beauties over there. Call Bull and Boomer and ask them to get the barges back to the main docks. Rebecca! You're with me! We have to stop those two thieves!" Ordered Comet, as he started to steam down the canals again.

'Man, operating with the girls really helps developing leadership skills.' Thought the railway tug, as they rushed back towards the bridge.

They soon reached the bridge again, but couldn't see the thieves anywhere.

"Do you think they already got here before us?" Asked Rebecca.

"I doubt it. Our path goes straight up here. They have to wind through the warehouses before they can get here." Said Comet, as the sound of pistons pumping filled the air, and from down the railroad tracks, the form of a black steam engine started to come closer towards the bridge.

"Once the bridge is cut off, we've got them! The next closest bridge out of this sector is a low drawbridge, and opened for canal traffic if nobody wants to cross it!" Smirked Comet, as the locomotive came closer towards them.

The train was no more than a few hundred yards away from the bridge, when the truck of the thieves verged out of a side alley with screeching tires. The steam locomotive gave a loud whistle to warn the drivers of the truck, but it was already too late. With screeching brakes, the steam engine hit the truck into the back, sending supplies and an old looking tug flying through the air, and landing both on the ground, and in the water. The truck was catapulted forwards, the driver loosing control over the vehicle and made it crash against the wall of a warehouse. The locomotive derailed through the impact, and rumbled across the cobblestone road, loosing speed drastically, but not stopping soon enough, falling over the edge of the canal and into the water below. The old tug landed on the water with a splash, sending water all over the surrounding buildings, as well as the wrecked truck, and of course, Comet and Rebecca.

"Pew! I had a shower this morning already!" Shivered Comet, spitting out canal water and shaking the water from his clothes and himself like a dog would do.

Rebecca quickly moved up to her uncle, helping the old tug up and hugging him.

"Oh uncle, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Becky! Thank goodness you are safe!" Said her uncle, hugging her back.

Meanwhile, from the wrecked truck, two scruffy looking characters, wearing broken green goggles, limped out of the drivers cabin, trying to make a silent getaway, but that was stopped when Mr. Brady, who had by then climbed out of the canal and onto the road beside it again, grabbed them each by the shoulders.

"And where do you think you're going?" Asked the engineer, squeezing the shoulders so much that it hurt.

"U-um, to jail?" Stuttered one.

"Good guess. Now, how about you get over there to that flatbed, until the police arrives?" Suggested Mr. Brady, while the two looked around. Eyeing them closely were Rebecca and her uncle, while Comet took aim at the two of them with his revolver. The two men gulped, and slowly walked towards the flatbed that maintained to stay on the road.

A little while later, the police, along with the admiral and both captains arrived at the scene. While the police took the two thieves away, the admiral and captain Walters came up to the steam tugs.

"Very well done Comet! You and Mr. Brady successfully stopped these thieves from getting away!" Congratulated Captain Walters.

"Thank you sir, but without Mac and Rocks help, I wouldn't have gotten all the supplies out of the collapsing warehouse in time. And without Rebecca's help, we wouldn't have found the thieves in the first place! And it was really Mr. Brady who actually 'stopped' the thieves." Chuckled Comet.

"Well, I'll be sure to give the two of them my thanks as well. As for you Rebecca, you and your uncle will be free of any accusations, and can head home straight away. Your captain must be worried where you have been all the time." Smiled the admiral.

"Thank you sir!" The two tugs said, but Rebecca quickly spoke up again.

"If you don't mind sir, I'd like to repair the damage I have done." She said.

"Well, you don't have to, I think our tugs can deal with it on their own, but if you really want, I won't hold you back. Since you are a steam tug, you shall be under captain Walters command. Now, if you shall excuse me, I'll have to see how much damage has been done to our new 'switcher'." Said the admiral, walking over to the canal, where Mr. Brady was instructing several men to salvage the locomotive.

"How is the damage Allan?" Asked the admiral.

"Well, I can't really say much about it, I need to inspect her in the docks, to check the boiler and firebox for any cracks that might've happened when the metal cooled down that quickly. But from here, it looks like she did quite well. She might even be able to get back to work without any major work done on her." Said Brady, but he noticed that the admiral was occupied by the rescue operation.

He turned back to the locomotive, and saw why the admiral was so interested in the rescue operation. In order to get the locomotive easier out of the water, they emptied out the boiler, and pressed the remaining water out via pressured air, in turn, the locomotive began to float on top of the water, just like a ship.

"The wonder that physics do. Even makes a locomotive float like a ship!" Chuckled Brady.

"...just like a ship..." Muttered the admiral.

"Wait, I just said that as a joke! There's no way-"

"A steam tugboat is nothing more than a locomotives boiler mounted onto a wooden frame that enables it to float Allan."

"But the main difference is that a tugboat was actually built to swim! A steam locomotive was built to run on rails, not float on waves! How do you even want to steer it?"

"It could be done with a normal rudder. We could do it. It just has to be tried." Said the admiral, as Brady sighted.

"Turning a tugboat into a destroyer, making a ship out of a locomotive, whatever will you come up next?" Asked the engineer.

"We'll see when it comes to that. Right now, we need to find a way to keep the engine afloat while maintaining a full boiler and a burning fire. I hope the factories can come up with a way..." Said the admiral as both men walked off towards the car they arrived with, while some of the steam tugs towed the swimming locomotive towards the docks.

The tugboats quickly started to organize the barges, carrying them towards their designated destinations within the harbor. As Comet soon found out, Rebecca was actually a railway tug like him, hence the equal terms of speed, and took over some of the duties he usually covered so that he had more time to cover the additionally duties he had to do thanks to Rodney's departure (the admiral never told them of his 'demise'). Soon, all the missing barges were back in their place, and all the jobs for the day were done. However, it had already started to get dark, so captain Walters suggested Rebecca to stay in the Steam Tugs home for the night. Her uncle had already headed up river to their fleets home harbor to explain their disappearance, so Rebecca gladly agreed. She enjoyed the meal with the other tugs, it was much nicer than eating some of the stolen supplies outside in the dark, and much more livelier. She enjoyed the friendly banter between the male tugs, the somewhat na ve but kind hearted Boomer, who unintentionally made the pompous Churchill fuming, while the 'kids' Mac and Rock would play with their food, oftentimes being scolded by Edwin to stop it, but getting back to it every time he wouldn't look, how Bull handled the cooking on his own without even breaking into a sweat and how Prometheus just stayed calm amidst this confusion, the only thing that gave away that he was paying attention towards everything that went on was a light chuckling that came from him from time to time. She felt like they were all a big family, and enjoyed being part of it, even if only for one night. However, she noticed how one space was left empty, although a plate and food had been placed on it. She wondered where Comet was, she still had to thank him for helping her and her uncle out in their troublesome situation.

"Hey, Edwin, do you know where Comet is? His food will get cold." She asked.

"He is still training with Fubuki. He usually does this after his jobs are finished and in between his runs. However, after all the car ferry duties were transferred to him, he barely has any time for training, so he does it after his duties, even if that means missing out on dinner with us." Explained Edwin.

"How come he has to do all the car ferry duties on his own? I thought a harbor as large as this one would have at least two railway tugs." Asked the female tug.

"Well, the Red Stacks did have a railway tug, built from the concept of Comets blueprints, but with an Diesel engine instead of a boiler. However, he did something very foolish and was sent away in disgrace." Said Edwin.

"Oh, well, after what I saw from the Red Stacks after today, it doesn't surprises me that one of them would go too far one day." Said Rebecca.

After dinner, Prometheus kindly showed her the guest quarters, before wishing her a pleasant night, and returning to his own quarters for the night. The guest quarters were fairly small, with only two beds, and a small table with two chairs on each side. A thin layer of dust showed that the room hadn't seen any occupant for quite some time now, however the beds were tidy and clean, showing that somebody had at least kept the beds in order for any visitor to occupy them. Through the small slit underneath the door, she could see that the lights on the floor were switched off, before the distant sound of footsteps got more and more silent, before completely disappearing. She waited for a few more seconds, before slipping out of the door, and heading outside of the building, towards the training course for the fleet girls she passed earlier. When she reached it, she saw Comet and Fubuki, gracefully moving across the water, maneuvering past obstacles and each other, every once in a while firing a shot from their turret/revolver, destroying the targets set up for them.

"Alright! You're getting better Fubuki! I didn't thought you'd be able to move about like we tugs do, but I must say, I'm quite surprised how quickly you learned!" Smiled Comet.

"You really think so?"

"I know so! Hey, if this goes on, I have to ask the admiral to rebuild you into a tugboat to help me and the others out in the harbor." Grinned the tug, as Fubuki hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Hehehe, don't worry, was just a joke. Now, let's see if you can manage your moves outside of the training course."

"What do you suggest?" Asked the special destroyer.

"Simple. Race you to the launching station!" Laughed Comet, and blasted his hooter loudly, racing off towards the launching station in a cloud of steam.

"Hey! Not fair!" Coughed Fubuki through the steam and smoke, as she started to chase after the smaller tugboat.

Rebecca quickly started to run back to the launching station to catch Comet, but was too slow, as the two battleships were already walking towards the destroyers home. She slowly followed them, a slight distance away from both to not make them feel as if they were being followed. Once they reached the entry to the destroyers house Comet stopped, since the tugs weren't allowed to enter the homes of the fleet girls (as to prevent any 'unwanted downtime' from any of the ships). Rebecca, hidden behind a wall from a nearby house, watched as Comet said goodbye to Fubuki, only for them to hug each other, before each went on their way again. Rebecca couldn't explain why, but she felt something weird inside of her, something the she didn't liked. Like a little sting within her body. She turned to walk back to the Steam Tugs home, when she was grabbed by somebody, and pulled around the edge of the house again. She was pressed against the wall, looking up to see Ricky and Ronald, both wearing bandages around their heads, glaring at the female tug.

"Don't think you can trick us, thief. We aren't that easily fooled like those stupid tugs or that admiral. We know that you are just staying here so that you can continue to steal more barges after things have gone quiet again. But we'll make sure you won't steal one further barge from us!" Growled Ricky, trying to make himself look big and dangerous, something that failed since he was a head smaller than Rebecca.

"Yeah, and we won't let you or Comet steal our car ferry contract neither!" Added Ronald.

"As far as I can see, Comet doesn't even needs to 'steal' that contract, since you can't carry it out without a railway tug to do the job full time. And I will return to my port tomorrow anyways, so back off before I hurt you. I might be a girl, but since you practically live next door to the fleet girls, you should know what we can do." Growled Rebecca, just as another voice added to their conversation.

"And what, if you don't mind me asking, are you doing with an tugboat under guard of captain Walters?" Asked Comet as he stepped up to the two Red Stacks and the female tug. Ricky let go of Rebecca, and turned to Comet with an annoyed look on his face. Rebecca quickly used the opportunity to move behind Comet.

"Listen steamer! That girl behind you is nothing more than a dirty little thief, and will steal again once she gets the opportunity to! You might be too na ve to get it, but we Red Stacks know a liar when we see one!" Sneered Ricky.

"Yeah, because we all are liars ourselves!" Added Ronald, while Ricky just facepalmed, sighting at the stupidity of his colleague.

"You know, I now feel something that comes close to respect for you." Said Comet.

"Really? At least you finally start to see your place." Smirked Ricky, feeling victorious that he got to hear that from one of the Steam Tugs.

"Yeah, it really takes something to work with so much stupidity. You know, on a second note, it might not be respect. More like pity." Smirked the railway tug, while Rebecca chuckled at the cheeky remark.

"Now hurry along and get to your beds. As far as I know, the two of you are on garbage detail for being so reckless today in nearly making these thief escape. Come on Rebecca, back to the house." Said Comet, as he escorted Rebecca back to the Steam Tugs home, while the two Red Stacks sulked all the way back to their house.

"Thank you for saving me back there Comet." Said Rebecca after some time of silence.

"No problem. After all, you are under guard of captain Walters, so that means we have to look out after you. Why were you still out here this late at night? I thought you already are asleep in the guest quarters." Asked Comet.

"I went out so that I could find you. I still have to thank you for saving me and my uncle from those thieves. I don't know what we would've done without you and the others." Said Rebecca.

"Well, if I have to be honest, I was a bit suspicious if you were telling the truth about your situation, but I'm happy that you were telling the truth." Said Comet, as the silence returned between the two, until they reached the home of the Steam Tugs.

Comet brought Rebecca to the guest quarters and bid her a good night, before turning to go back to his quarters. Before he could fully turn towards the hallway however, he was stopped by Rebecca, who pulled him back to face her. He wanted to ask what was wrong, when he suddenly felt her lips on his own. The kiss quickly ended, and Rebecca quickly moved inside the guest quarters, closing the doors behind her. Comet was frozen in shock at the situation, but after a few seconds, straightened himself up and looked around to make sure that nobody saw what had happened. When he was sure that nobody had seen him, he slowly made his way back to his quarters, and after a quick shower and changing into his nightwear, went to bed, however, he was sure that he wouldn't get much sleep that night.

'Damn, Ricky was right. She did steal again. I doubt he was meaning this kind of stealing though...' Thought Comet to himself as he turned to his side to try and find at least a few hours of rest.'

 **Soooo, that was a VERY long break (bet you all thought I abandoned this one didn't you?) Well, sorry for the wait, but I was a bit low on ideas for chapters. That was until I decided to rewatch the series TUGS again. Well, let's just say that things will get busier around here ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, that took some time. Funny really, just today I got up and arrived late, and that's how this story started off. Funny coincidence huh? Anyways, this is the second of three episodes that take a look on the tug fleets, for several reasons:  
**

 **1\. I watched too much TUGS and the show gave me plenty of ideas for this story and it kinda got out of hand and**

 **2\. Because the characters are going to become more important, both in character development, and in the outcome of this story**

 **Now, let's hope I won't forget to upload the next chapter soon like I did with this one aye? :P**

 **Anyways, I held you up for long enough, let's keep going with the actual story!**

With the following days, the work for both tug fleets and the fleet girls started to pick up drastically. Comet was the last one to wake up one day, Mac and Rock tried to get the railway tug to wake up, but he was sleeping like a stone. When he did wake up, he was shocked to see that he was already 15 minutes behind his usual schedule.

"Scrap me I'm late!" He shouted, as he quickly started to get himself ready for the day.

Not ten minutes later, and he was down in the main room with the rest of the other tugs. Both tug fleets had been ordered to carry out a big order of wood transportations from the sawmills in a small town up the river by the lake. Churchill, Rock, Boomer and Edwin had already moved up river with empty barges to collect the wood from the mills, leaving Comet, Prometheus, Mac and Bull at their house.

"And I thought you wouldn't want to wake up today. Glad you finally woke up Comet." Said captain Walters as Comet grabbed himself some toast.

"Sorry sir. Had a bad night sleeping." Sighted Comet.

"No matter now, you're up and that's what's important. Now then, once you've finished, grab some empty barges and head up the river. We have to get our part of the contract done as soon as possible, so that we can get back to our usual jobs. Prometheus! Churchill has already gotten up river, so you have to work on your own in bringing the naval trampers in! I talked with captain Stone and he agreed to have Rebecca work your duties for the rest of the day Comet. Apparently, the railway has built more bridges since she was gone, and her uncle can cover the remaining work there on his own for the time being. Mac, before I forget it, you have to bring some parts for the sawmills in Mittsville. Afterwards, you'll help the others with the wood contract." Explained the captain, before returning to his office.

Meanwhile, up at the lake, Boomer and Edwin were waiting at the loading docks to get their barges loaded, when a low, deep hooter rang out from further down the river.

"Oh, listen, sounds like Dundee." Said Edwin.

Dundee was an alligator tugboat, named like it for their low profile, and in Dundees case, the danger that came from them. Dundee was in charge of transporting material around the upper parts of the river and the lake to the lumber camps, ranging from fuel, food, and other normal supplies right down to explosives.

"Ey up lads, nice weather for deliveries aye? Doing some wood contracts I see? Ain't that a bit boring? Why don't you transport anything more lively like me?" Bubbled the small tug as he came to a stop beside the bigger tugs.

"Nah thank you Dundee, I don't want to blow myself up with that dynamite. You ain't planning about unloading next to us are you?" Asked Boomer.

"'Fraid so lad. Don't worry, if that goes up, we call go with it." Laughed the alligator tug, but got no laugh in reply.

"Don't worry, just a joke, everything's safe." He added quickly as he saw the frown on the two other tugs faces.

"I do hope so..." Murmured Edwin.

A little while later, halfway down the river, shortly outside of Mittsville, Ronald, Roger and Rupert were pulling their barges back towards the main harbor, when they passed Ricky, slowly fighting his way up the river with a rusty old ship in tow.

"What the heck are you doing here Ricky? Richard is waiting for you in Mittsville!" Asked Rupert.

"It's not... My fault..." Panted Ricky.

"Captain Red wanted me to pull this old rust bucket to the scrapyards north of Mittsville on my way up! I'm just carrying out orders!" Wheezed the small tug as he slowly passed the cavalcade of his comrades.

"Well, you better get a move on then, 'cause Richard was already pissed when we moved out, don't want to know how he is right now." Roger oiled.

"I'm doing my best alright?!" Growled Ricky as the three tugs continued down the river.

At Mittsville, Richard was waiting impatiently for Ricky to arrive. He was the Red Stacks number one tug, both in hierarchy and deviousness, displaying that by wearing a red bowler hat instead of an base cap. However, even he cut the line in risking his safety, which was why he agreed to send Rodney away in the first place.

"And what kept you pip squeak?" Growled the larger tug, as Ricky slowly moved up to him with the rusty ship in tow.

"I was order by captain Red to carry this one with me! I was just carrying out orders!" Panted the small ship, scared of the wrath of his superior, but also happy for the small rest.

"Meh, can't be helped then. Come on, let's make this quick, we have to show the steamers who the better tugs are and get that wood contract finished faster than they can." Huffed Richard, as he moved behind the old ship, getting ready to push.

"Thank Richard, that way we'll get to the scrapyard much faster." Said the small tug with an tired smile.

"Yeah, yeah, just get moving, we have work to do, come on, come on!" Sneered Richard as he started to push.

They slowly made their way up the river. Too slow for Richard however.

"Come on, move faster, hurry up!" Growled Richard as he pushed against the ship from the back.

"Slow down please! The current is against us! I can't move faster! Slow down!" Cried the small boat, but Richard wouldn't listen. He pushed even harder, so hard, that he pushed the boat against the back of Ricky, and started to push it sideways.

"Richard! Wait! The ship is drifting sideways! I can't control it! Stop! Stop!" Shouted Ricky, but it was already too late.

The ship moved further sideways, and with an loud crunching noise, wedged itself against the sides of the riverbed, trapping Ricky on the lakeside of the river and leaving Richard on the harbor side.

"Ugh, great, **just** great! Are you alright Ricky?!" Shouted Richard.

"Yes! But I'm trapped!" Called Ricky back.

"Don't worry! I'll go and get help!" Called Richard back, but as he moved further away from the blockage, a broad smirk grew on his face.

"Hey... Didn't those steamers pass us earlier? That means all the Steam Tugs are trapped up at the lake! Oh, captain Red will be pleased when he hears this! Now all the work is there for us Red Stacks!" Smirked Richard, as he slowly oiled back down the river towards Mittsville.

Meanwhile, Ricky was waiting next to the old ship, when two hooters where heard from around the river bend.

"Oh dear, here comes trouble..." Cringed the small tug, as Edwin, Boomer and Rock steamed up with their wood barges.

"Huh? What happened here?" Asked Boomer.

"Richard and I were bringing this old rust bucket to the scrapyards, but he pushed too hard and wedged the ship in between these here rocks." Explained the small Red Stack.

"Well, seems like we're trapped up here." Stated Edwin.

"What should we do now? Can't we try to contact captain Walters with our radios?" Asked Rock.

"No can do young one, they are all shut off for maintenance today." Sighted Edwin.

"Richard said he'll get help." Said Ricky.

"Puh, I wouldn't give too much on that Richards word!" Came another voice, as Bull and Churchill steamed up with their barge loads.

"I say this is terrible! With all of us Steam Tugs stuck up here, the Red Stacks will have free play at the contracts in the harbor!" Grumbled Churchill.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Richard didn't planned this..." Muttered Rock.

"Everybody, calm down! Rock! Go back up the river, and try to get help! Comet is still up at the lake, maybe he can sent a message down to Mittsville via the railway. We'll try to get the ship free ourselves." Said Edwin.

"Aye aye sir! Will do!" Chuffed Rock, as he dropped his barge next to Churchills, and quickly made his way up the river.

Richard was cruising back into Mittsville, where he would pick up some freshly cut timber, when he heard the chuffing of a steam engine, and a familiar tug came out of the loading docks of the sawmills.

"Mac?! What are you doing here? I thought you were up at the lake with the other steamers?" Asked Richard, surprised.

"Captain Walters gave me orders to bring some parts to the sawmill, I'm on my way up there now. Why do you even care?" Asked Mac, suspicious about the tone in the Red Stacks voice.

"Oh, um, well, it's just that, Ricky wedged his tow across the river, and there's no way up or down it."

"Oh no! That's terrible! Richard, can you go back to the harbor and get a salvage team? I'll go up there and see what I can do!" Said Mac and started to steam off towards the blockage.

"Sure Mac! Hehehe, that fool won't be able to do anything, and I'll keep us Red Stacks busy with the contracts." Snickered the devious tug, but he kept the last part to himself.

Rock was quickly making his way up the river, and soon reached the loading docks, where Comet was having his barge loaded, while having a conversation with one of the drivers of the railway and Dundee. The small tug whistled loudly to make himself heard.

"Rock? You're back quickly! How come?" Asked Comet.

"Hey Rock! Long time no seen! How are you and your brother?" Asked Dundee. He and the twins were good friends, especially he and Rock, since they often worked together up river.

"There's a ship stuck across the river! Nobody can go up here or back down to the harbor!" Wheezed the small tug, tired after his fast run up the river.

"Drat, that's bad. We'll get behind schedule with that blockade stopping us." Muttered Comet.

"Hey Puffa, can you give Mr. Brady a message once you're back in port? Tell him he needs to get up here with as much flatbeds as his engine can pull! He needs to transport the wood while we're clearing up the blockade!" Asked Comet the driver.

"Will do! Hope old Allan's engine is already back on track for that run!" Said Preston 'Puffa' Kessler, as he quickly walked to his locomotive, and with a loud cry of its whistle, the small tank engine started to thunder back down the line back towards the harbor.

"Come on Rock! Let's see if we can help!" Said Comet, as a low hooter rang out next to them.

"Don't worry lads, I know exactly what we need!" Smirked Dundee, as he pointed to his barge, on which, between kerosene, clothes and food, a bright red box with the word 'Danger' written onto it stood.

"What? You don't want to blow it up, do you?" Asked Comet, somewhat nervous.

"'Course! With the load of dynamite I have with me, I can blast that hunk of rust out of the waters, no fuss!" Grinned the alligator tug.

"Ugh, alright. But I'm not going to be the one to lit **that** fuse!" Said Comet, as the three tugs started their way back down the river.

Meanwhile, Edwin had organized his, Boomers, Bulls, Churchills and Rocks barges into a ram, to try and ram the ship out of its position.

"I'm not sure about this Edwin." Murmured Boomer.

"Come on! On the count of three, we'll go full steam, and ram into the ship! One! Two! Three! Full speed!" Shouted Edwin, and the steam tugs pushed the barges towards the ship with all they were worth. With a dull thud, the barges rammed into the ship. But the ship didn't budge. The barges, however, drifted away from each other thanks to the large pressure from the tugs, and rammed into everything that was close to them, including a certain Red Stack tug, pushing him into some rocks at the riverbank.

"Ouch! H-hey! I-I think I'm stuck!" Called Ricky.

"Great, now we've got two ships stuck!" Groaned Bull, as from the other side of the ship, a low whistle sounded.

"That sounds like Mac! Churchill, you're the tallest from all of us! Look over the deck of the ship and see if Mac is over there!" Said the paddle steamer.

"Alright, just hope I won't spoil my work suit with any rust or oil..." Muttered the large tug, as he looked over the deck of the ship.

"Mac? Mac, are you there?"

"Yeah! I'm down here!" Came the reply, and Mac steamed into the view of the ocean going tug.

"Mac! We're trapped over here and need help! Go and search for a crane or anything to get this thing out of its position! The water is already rising on our side!" Called Churchill.

"Alright, I'll go back to Mittsville and see if I can find a crane there!" Replied Mac, as he quickly made his way back towards Mittsville.

Once there, he quickly searched the port for a crane. Luckily, he found one, in the form of an old A-frame crane, with its operator, Lincoln Dietsch. Lincoln was a rather small person, fitting to his crane, which was one of the smallest of the harbor. He was usually working up river where larger cranes couldn't work due to their size, and was a good friend of the Steam Tugs. Because of his small size, nearly everyone referred his crane as 'Little Ditcher'.

"Ahoy there Mac! What's the rush?!" Called Lincoln.

"A ship got stuck further up the river! We need your crane to get it out of its position and free the others that are stuck on the other side!" Explained Mac.

"Alright, I'll just pull in these here legs and we can get going." Said Mr. Dietsch and started to pull in the support legs that were used whenever the crane had to lift anything that would make the crane topple over.

"Huh, trying to get that ship moving with old Ditcher? You'll more likely wreck it that get that ship moving!" Laughed Richard as he moved past the Steam Tug and crane with two empty wood barges.

"At least I'm doing something to help! And where is the salvage crew?!" Called Mac, but Richard didn't listen.

'Hmmm, I better check if that rust bucket really sticks where it is. The others haven't even started taking over the majority of those steamers contracts, would be a shame if they had to quit so soon.' Thought Richard, smirking as he dropped off his load and started to move back up the river.

At the blockade, the Steam Tugs had pulled Ricky out of his predicament, but we're stuck again with no idea of what to do now. That was, until three familiar whistles rang out from around the river bank.

"Rock, did you manage to send that message?" Asked Edwin.

"Yeah, Puffa is on his way to the harbor, with any luck, Mr. Brady should be up at the logging site and should be loading up the first few trucks with wood." Smiled Rock.

"Good. Now all we have to figure out is how to get past this ship." Sighted Churchill.

"Don't worry old Tommy. I've got you covered." Grinned Dundee as he moved up to the others.

"What? **You** want to get us past that ship?" Scoffed the ocean going tug.

"Not past. But with a large enough hole, we'll go through it easily." Chuckled the alligator tug.

"Wait, you don't want to actually, uh, blow the ship up, do you?" Asked Boomer.

"Sure am!"

"That's crazy!" Exclaimed Ricky.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Asked Edwin.

The small Red Stack stayed silent.

"Thought so. Okay Dundee! We'll let you try! Just make sure nothing goes wrong!" Said the paddle steamer.

"No problem. A controlled explosion is all we need!" Grinned the small tug, as he opened the box filled with dynamite and started to place the dynamite sticks across the side of the ship.

A few minutes later, all the dynamite sticks were placed and Dundee had placed a long fuse along the side of the river.

"Alright everyone! Stay clear!" He called, as the other tugs got behind the alligator tug.

"10"

"9"

"8"

"7"

"6"

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

" **2**!"

" **1**!"

...

"What's wrong now?" Asked the tug, slightly confused.

"You mean you don't know?" Asked Edwin.

"Of course I know! Probably just a wet fuse. Anybody volunteering to go and take a look?" Asked Dundee.

"Why do you need a volunteer?" Asked Bull.

"You never know, might go up after all."

"Um, I think this situation needs an expert." Replied Churchill.

"Alright, alright, I'll go, scary cats..." Chuffed Dundee as he moved up to the rusty ship.

"What did I say? Wet fuse. Just need a new one, and we're ready to blast this thing to kingdom come!" Grinned the alligator tug, as he placed a new fuse, and went back to the other tugs.

"Alright, here we go! 10!"

"Can't you start the countdown at 5?" Asked Comet.

"Hey, my bang, my countdown! 9!"

Meanwhile, Richard had finally reached the wrecked ship. The water level on his side was very low, and he couldn't see nor hear anything properly as to what was happening on the other side.

"Ricky? Ricky! Answer me, come on!"

"5!"

"Ricky? Is that you?"

"4!"

"Ricky, stop playing games and answer me!"

"3!"

"Ricky! If you don't stop fooling around, I'll inform captain Red about your insubordination!"

" **2**!"

"And why the hell do you count backwards?!"

" **1**!"

 **BOOM**!

The dynamite detonated in a large bang, ripping a hole through the ship, big enough for all the tugs to pass through. The water that was held back on the lake's side now was free to move through again, rushing through the hole, and filling the riverbed again. However, Richard was so surprised by the explosion that he couldn't get away in time and was washed away by the wave. The current of the water pulled the tugboats through the hole, speeding them up greatly and flushing them quickly down the rapidly refilling river.

"Woah!"

"Wowowowowowow!"

"Wohoo!"

"I say! Grand job!"

"Come on Ricky!" Called Rock and before the small Red Stack could argue with him, Rock already pulled him along through the ship.

They gathered themselves on the other side of the ship, readjusting the ropes that held their barges in place, when a voice from the riverbank called out to them.

"Hey! A little help here!"

They all looked over, and couldn't help but laugh when they saw Richard, stuck in between some logs and rocks, his work suit protecting him from injuries, but also preventing him from getting out of his predicament.

"Hehehe, looks like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place!" Laughed Bull.

"Another plan backfired I assume?" Mused Comet.

"It ain't funny! Now come and get me out of here!" Growled Richard.

"I have to argue about that, he looks pretty funny to me, aye Ricky?" Asked Rock

"Hehe, yeah... Eh?! I-I mean no! No, of course not!" Stuttered Ricky, trying to cover his laughter.

"Grr, just you wait until I'm out of this mess Ricky!" Growled the large Red Stack tug.

"Well, looks like my work here is done. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get back to the lake, the Lumberjacks need their supplies. Bye guys!" Whistled Dundee, as he turned around and made his way back up the river.

"Goodbye Dundee, and thank you for your help! Come on now lads! We've got a contract to finish!" Called Edwin, as the Steam Tugs started to move down the river, just as Mac arrive.

"Huh, looks like they managed to break through without me. Hey, Richard! Need a hand?" Asked Mac.

"Ugh, I don't need any help from a steamer!" Growled the diesel tug.

"Very well. Good luck getting out of there." Whistled the steam tug, smiling smugly as he started back towards Mittsville.

'Three, two, one, and...'

"Wait!"

'Called it.'

"Alright alright! Can you please help me get out of here?" Groaned the Red Stack.

"No problem." Smiled Mac kindly, and moved Little Ditcher into place, with Lincoln starting the salvage operation.

The Steam Tugs quickly got to Mittsville, where, to their surprise, the sawmills were still hard at work, with plenty of logs still waiting for their turn to be cut into wooden planks.

"Huh? How did all those logs get here?" Asked Edwin.

"Good, he got the message." Smiled Comet, as a low whistle cried out from the railway tracks, and a familiar, black steam locomotive rolled in, pulling several trucks full with logs into the sawmills.

"Hey boys! You finally got free? Good! Now I can get the old girl back into the works!" Called Mr. Brady.

"How did he got here?" Asked Bull.

"I asked Puffa to tell him to take over our log transportations, while we were trapped up there. I did tell you earlier about that though!" Explained Comet with an chuckle.

"Ah, there you are! Captain Walters explained to me over phone why you couldn't get here, Allan has brought most of your part of the contract in, your barges are the last loads we need!" Said the manager of the sawmill, as the tugs stared at him.

"Well, looks like we finished this faster than captain Walters expected." Said Edwin.

"If that's so, then we better get back to the harbor and get back to our usual jobs!" Said Bull, and the others agreed.

A few hours later, the Steam Tugs were back in the harbor, and quickly took back their jobs from the Red Stacks. Comet and Rebecca were handling the car ferry duties hand in hand, both tugs easily working the extra duties, as well as Rodney's usual duties. The scrapyards manager wasn't happy about the Red Stacks for delaying his work, and the sawmill manager had a stern word with captain Red about sabotaging the contract. In turn, captain Red ordered both Ricky and Richard on garbage detail for the rest of the week. The Steam Tugs had a great laugh about this, and captain Walters was pleased when he told them that they had gotten the wood contract from the sawmills. With the setting sun, the day's work started to dwindle as well. Both tug fleets started to return to their houses, with the exception of Churchill, who worked night duties outside of the port with some of the fleet girls, and some of the red stacks, who were doing their part of the night shift for the day, as both fleets captains had agreed that their tugs would take turns on the night shifts, making this the only contract where both fleets would cooperate on a long therm basis. Comet and Rebecca were slowly returning to the launching station with their barges. Comet hadn't gotten time over the past few days to speak to her about their 'incident' in front of the guest quarters, but he knew he had to talk about it as soon as possible. He didn't want to break the poor tugs heart, or make any false hopes.

"Hey, Rebec-"

"Comet!" Came a voice, accompanied by an air horn.

They both turned to the source of the voice, and saw how Fubuki raced towards them.

"Woah there Fubuki! Where's the fire?" Joked Comet.

"There is trouble near the port entry! A distress signal had been sent out by a supply convoy! Apparently they have been attacked by the Abyssal and have suffered heavy losses!" Said Fubuki.

"Well, that sounds very concerning, but why are you coming to me for that? The Red Stacks got the bulk of the night shift tonight." Said Comet.

"That's just it: they refuse to have the Red Stacks tow them in! They swear that they saw one of them within the Abyssal squad that attacked them!" Replied Fubuki, now perking both tugs interest.

"Oooookay, remember how I said that was concerning? Forget what I said. **This** is concerning! Lead the way Fubuki, we'll follow you! Let's get those unlucky fellows into port!" Called Comet, as he grabbed his radio.

"Churchill! Churchill! Get to the harbor entry quickly! A convoy was attacked and it looks like the Red Stacks are somehow involved with it! We have to tow whoever is left out there into port!" Called Comet.

"Alright, I'm already on my way! I will be there as quick as I can!" Replied Churchill.

"Hey Comet? I-I never been out in the open sea before..." Admitted Rebecca shyly.

"Don't worry, Fubuki and I will be there with you. You'll be safe, I promise." Said the male tug kindly, making the female tug smile with a slight blush.

'Great work idiot. Remember how you didn't want to make any false hopes? Well, you are failing miserably at that!' Spoke his inner self, as the three ships made their way out of the port.

They quickly reached the location from where the distress signal had been sent from. They were shocked when they saw the extend of the damage. Several large goods ships were either stalled, only partly or completely destroyed, rests of the destroyed ship's cargo floated on the water surface, along with some of the bodies of the ships crews. The destroyer and the two tugboats went pale when they saw the destruction.

"Come on, let's get going. We need to get this lot towed." Gulped Comet shakily, as he pulled the others towards one of the stalled ships.

Blowing his hooter, he caught the attention of the sailors on board the ship, which carried the name 'Kraka-Toa'. They nearly jumped out of their skin when they saw the tugboat, but calmed down when they noticed the steam escaping out of the tugboats stack.

"What made you so jumpy?" Called Comet.

"Sorry! You just looked so much like that tugboat that attacked us with the Abyssal. Can you give us a tow into port?" Asked the sailor.

"Give us a rope and we'll pull you in! Churchill is coming up to get one of the other ships in!"

"Thank you! We already called in help from further back at the reserve lines! Some of the naval tugboats are coming up to get the others into port!" Explained the sailor, while Comet shivered slightly at the news.

"Aye, alright, let's get you in." Said Comet, and tugged on the rope before either Rebecca or Fubuki could move as well, pulling the ship with all his might.

"Hey hey! Hold your horsepower Comet!" Called Rebecca, starting to pull as well, Fubuki trying her best to help as well.

"Hey Comet? What's a naval tugboat? I thought you lot already are naval tugboats, with you all working with the admiral?" Asked Fubuki as she drew level with the tugboats.

"Hehe, you joined this base later, so it's understandable that you don't know much about this port. It wasn't always a naval port. Back when we started work here, it was a normal port for cargo and passenger ships. We were and still are independent tug fleets that competed against each other in the harbor, servicing the industries that are located within the port, like the factories, the steel foundries, coaling plants, garbage dumps, stone quarries, you name it. When the Abyssal started to attack us, the work went back drastically. Large ocean liners, goods ships and such wouldn't travel out onto sea anymore. We lost our main income and worked only within the ports and up river. Then, you fleet girls started to fight against the Abyssal, and our captains started to get contracts from the admiral to bring in supplies and parts for you lot. We are simple civilians, who just help with the war effort. However, naval tugs are a different breed. They have the souls of former military tugs in them, and as for that are nothing less than military officers. They order us about and play the know-it-all, put orders above common sense and are usually a plain pain in the bunker. All I can hope that it isn't Typhoon that's coming..." Explained Comet.

"Why?" Asked Rebecca.

"Because from all the naval tugs, Typhoon is the most stubborn, intolerable and completely stuck up naval twit there is. Well, there is his brother Bluenose, but he's another story..." Explained Comet.

"He can't be that bad! ...or can he?" Asked Rebecca.

"I hope you don't have to find out Becky. For your own sake." Sighted Comet as they finally reached the harbor entry.

The admiral looked out of his window, seeing the three ships towing in the damaged goods vessel.

"In total, we lost 3 ships, another 3 ships were damaged and 2 got out without any damages. The 'Kraka-Toa', the 'Vienna' and the 'Haddock' have suffered damages at their engines, steering and hull, and will have to be repaired before they can get back into their planned position." Explained Nagato.

"And the crews all gave the same answer?" Asked the admiral.

"Yes sir. All reported that a black and red tugboat was with the Abyssal fleet. Those that got close enough saw that he had a striking similarity to railway tugboat Comet." Said the secretary ship, reading the statement of the ship crews that they got via the radio.

"We have to see this mysterious tug ourselves. I doubt the Red Stacks are working together with the Abyssal, but I also have the bad feeling that Rodney isn't as lost as we thought he was." Said the admiral grimly.

"We also have to get further supplies to replace the ones lost in the attack. For the time being, we should reroute the transfer of the supplies onto land routes, at least until we can secure the route from the supply depots on the waterways again." Stated the admiral, as Nagato nodded and left the room.

"Hmm, if we get more supplies from the land routes, it will mean that there will be even more railway trucks that will need transfer across the harbor. I will have to ask captain Stone if Rebecca can stay just a little bit further. Without Rodney, Comet will work himself to pieces otherwise..." Sighted the Admiral as he continued to watch how the 'Kraka-Toa' was supported for unloading her supplies, while Churchill already pulled the 'Haddock' into the port.

 **Meanwhile, somewhere out on the ocean...**

 _"You did good, little tug."_ Mused one of the Abyssal battleships, who had attacked the convoy.

 _"Well, what else did you expect from a superior diesel tug such as myself?"_ Smirked Rodney as some of the other ships rolled their eyes.

 _"I can't stand his bragging anymore. He's driving me crazy with all that 'revolutionary' crap."_ Hissed a destroyer to the lead battleship.

 _"We can't dispose of him just yet. He still has valuable information for us. He was the one who gave us the information about the supply route after all! If we can get more information about their main base, we can finally get our revenge after the setbacks."_ Replied the battleship, to which the destroyer just returned to his former position with a grumble.

 _'Just you wait special destroyer Fubuki. You will get what you deserve.'_ Thought the battleship with a smirk that even made some of the others back away in fright, as they made their way to their home base.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yeah... remember when I said 'let's up I won't forget to upload the next chapter'? Guess what? I didn't. I just never got around to upload it. It isn't that long either, rather a filler, although the ending does forshadow that some certain events will happen in the next chapter. And, as to make up for having such a short chapter, this will be a double update! That's right, two chapter at the same day!**

 **Anyways, don't let me interrupt in you reading this chapter any longer! Enjoy!**

With the three ships in the dry docks for repairs and the water routes unsafe for further transportation of supplies, these duties were transferred to land ways. Trains and lorries transported the supplies up to the docks, where they were transferred onto the barges of the tugboats and brought to the warehouses and ships waiting for them. Adding to the already plentiful duties of the tugs in the harbor with supply duties and servicing the water stationed industries, the tug fleets had to help with the repairs of the cargo ships. The duties had to be carried out around the clock, and so the tugs would work without any real rest, pushing themselves to near breaking point before being convinced to take a rest. The lifeblood of all these operations was fuel, in form of heavy bunker C oil and coal. The tugs had to resupply on their fuel in form of food to maintain their health and keep their strength and restock on fuel in form of coal to continue to operate their suits. One morning, the Steam Tugs were eating breakfast after one of the rare nights where almost all of them were back for a regular 8 hours of sleep. However, their eyes were pulled to the door, when Bull walked into the room, covered from head to toe in coal dust, thanks to an earlier incident while working at the coaling depot.

"You know what amazes me? Every day I see something new around here. Today it's a walking sack of coal no less!" Chortled Churchill.

"Well, ya'd be dirty too after working half the night with coal!" Coughed Bull.

Churchill just sniffed.

"Well, at least you don't smell."

"Hehe, of course he doesn't smell! Coal doesn't have a smell!" Chuckled Boomer.

"I know Boomer, but he could've at least taken the time to get a hose down or something like that. Even **YOU** Boomer, after working all day with garbage, have the decency to look presentable. After all, we Steam Tugs have a reputation to keep." Said the ocean going tug, as Captain Walters walked in.

"At least one tug already has been working today Churchill! Now, you have to grab Comets railway barges and head to the loading station, you have to take the garbage barge with you as well!"

"Me? On car ferry duties? **And** garbage detail? Why can't Comet do this? After all, he is a railway tug!"

"The admiral has called the third torpedo squadron in for a mission and asked for Comet to accompany them."

"And being the hopelessly in love tug he is, he didn't even hesitate, didn't he?" Asked Mac cheekily.

"That wouldn't be the way I'd put it, but in a way, yes." Sighted captain Walters. Everyone in the fleet knew that Comet was in love with Fubuki, and that the Fleetgirl herself didn't notice anything was a surprise for every Steam Tug.

"Now then! Prometheus! The inspecting naval tug will come here with a decoy ship, to make the Abyssal think we'd still keep the water routes open. You have to get them in!"

"Alright sir." Said the gentle giant, but there was a hint of reluctance in his voice.

"Mac! Head to the old warehouses, you and Rock have to pick up a few barges worth of spare parts for the repairs on the 'Haddock'!"

"Aye aye sir!" Called the twins.

"Edwin! Pick up the new propeller from the factories and bring it to the dry docks of the 'Kraka-Toa'! Rock! Once you are done with your work, go and help Edwin!"

"Yes sir. Better hurry Rock, I will need all the help I can get with that propeller!" Chuckled Edwin.

"Now then, John Bull, Boomer! Your job is the most important one! The steelworks have set up a contest to see who can get the contract for the steel transport for the next few years! Show them that Steam Tugs can move tough loads better than Red Stacks!"

"Aye aye sir!" Smirked the two tugs, ready to show the Red Stacks up another time.

"Alright, that'll be all! Now off to work with you lot! And be careful out there, today is a very high tide!" Called the captain as the others moved out.

"Alright Boomer, you head out first, I'll take a quick shower and follow afterwards." Said Bull as the others left for the launching station.

"You can save the shower! I'll hose you down while we head to the steelworks! Saves time." Chuckled Boomer, as they headed towards the launching station as well.

Indeed it was a high tide, one of the highest of the season. Mac and Rock got their fair share of trouble from it when they reached the warehouses. The pier and the ground floor were flooded, and most of the crates with the spare parts were floating around the water.

"Oh dear, look at this lot! It'll take us all day to gather everything up and into their barges!" Groaned Mac.

"Well, better get started soon then aye?" Suggested Rock as the two switchers began rescuing whatever they could from their loads.

The steelworks had been restricted in its working capacity in its current location and couldn't extend further on its grounds. Therefore, the steelworks opened a new foundry on the other side of the bay. They had chosen this time of year to decide which tug fleet would take over the steel transportation contracts for the following years, as to safe money with requesting both fleets to transport part of the materials towards the new location. The Red Stacks were already at the steelworks, getting machinery and a very tall steel construction finished for transfer.

"Well well well, look what the waves washed in. The Steamers. Sorry to tell you, but there's no work for you here. We've got it all sealed up." Oiled Roger.

"We've got as much right to compete for the contract as you do." Growled Bull.

"Well, good luck to you then, three against one not much chance for you clapped out steamers so bugger off!" Snapped the Red Stack.

"How do you get three against one? There's only two of you?" Asked Boomer confused.

"Well, you ain't much of a danger to us, so we've counted you onto our side Boomer." Replied Rupert smugly as Boomer frowned.

"Ey up Rupert! Get moving! You're all loaded up!" Called Michael Kruger, the crane operator of the harbors biggest crane.

"Well, we'd like to stay and chat, but we've got work to do." Oiled Rupert, as he blasted his air horn, and started off.

"So long, **losers**." Laughed Roger, as he started off as well, his engine slightly spluttering as he caught up with his colleague.

"We've ought to be quick to show them who's better. That engine of Roger didn't sound so good, he might have problems along the way if that keeps up. Hey! Big Mickey! How about a very quick load up?" Called Bull.

"No worry Bull! I've heard everything from up here! Good luck to you Steam Tugs!" Called Michael, or as he was known as 'Big Mickey', due to his tall size and stature. The two steam tugs quickly got their loads, and started to make their way across the bay. In the further distance, they could see two red dressed tugs, one of which had black smoke coming from his engine compartment.

"I told you to get that engine of yours fixed. Now those steamers will be in the lead." Grumbled Rupert, as he was trying to fix the engine.

"Ugh, no worries, I've got a plan. If we cut through the canal, we'll get there first! They won't be able to get past us neither, the canal's not wide enough!" Smirked Roger.

"Oh Roger, I don't know where you get these ideas of yours." Beamed Rupert, as he closed the engine compartment and both tugs started to move again.

The two steam tugs steadily steamed onwards, when they saw how the two diesel tugs left their path.

"Huh? What are they up to? ...They're heading towards the canal!" Pointed Bull out.

"Well then, let's follow them." Stated Boomer, but was held back by his friend.

"Oh no we don't. They won't get through."

"Why not?"

"Bridges Boomer, bridges."

"So what?"

"It's a high tide today."

"So what?"

"High tide, high load."

"Oh yeah! Bridges!"

"Uhu, once they see that they won't fit under the bridges they have to come back, and by then we'll be already at the site. Come on now!" Smiled Bull, as the two tugs continued on the usual path.

Several bridges span across the canals, the lowest one over the one that Roger and Rupert were using was used by the railways up until a few years ago. It had been closed for some time, but due to the increased number of trains, the lines were reopened for service. The diesel tugs hadn't counted their high load into their plan, coupled with the high tide, the highest of the season, it was a recipe for disaster. Churchill was using the canal in the opposite direction, together with the railway barges and the garbage barge. Due to Churchill not being a qualified railway tug, he had an operator for each railway barge, two brothers by the name of Franklin and Edward Chapin. The garbage barge had an additional motor and operator, to make smaller movements without the need of a tugboat. The operator was a kind but sometimes slow old man by the name of Steve Lanton but was commonly known by everyone as 'Lord Stinker' for his smelly work. There would be no way that the rivaling tugboats could pass each other. One of them would have to turn around. They first saw each other at the bend leading to the railway bridge.

"Go into reverse if you please! This is my water!" Called Churchill, his call slightly drowned out by the train crossing the bridge above them.

"I repeat, this is my water!"

"Our load is heavier!" Retorted Roger.

"My load is wider!" Answered Churchill cheekily.

"You have exactly 5 seconds to back up before we charge!" Stated Rupert.

"Haha! So do you!"

"Alright! Five!" Said Roger.

"They mean it Churchill old bean." Chuckled Edward.

"I am coming through! Four!"

"So am I! Three!" Called Rupert.

"We'll see! Two!" Smirked Churchill.

"One!" Growled Roger, as both Rupert and Churchill revved up their engines.

"Get to the bridge first and you've got him!" Smirked Roger.

"Alright, nobody can stop this load once it's underway! That steamer is scrap!" Replied Rupert as he charged forwards.

Both tugs put in full power as they headed towards each other and the bridge.

"Hey Churchill! Look at his load!" Called Steve, as the ocean going tug looked up to the steel construct, seeing that it was clearly too high to fit under the bridge.

"Oh no, he's going to hit! Hold on tight everyone, I'm going into reverse!" Called Churchill, as he quickly backed up, shaking his three 'passengers' up quite a bit.

"He's backing up! Didn't I tell you Roger?" Laughed Rupert.

"Didn't even made a fight of it!" Laughed the other tug back, but stopped when he saw the load.

"Oh no... I see why now! The bridge! Reverse engines! Quick!" Called Roger.

"I can't! It's pushing me!" Called Rupert, as he rammed the bridge, damaging his load and the bridgework, before coming to a stop with the steel construct halfway wedged underneath the bridge.

"That was typical Red Stack thinking Rupert." Sniffed Churchill with an disapproving look.

"Oh dear. Roger and I better get some help." Frowned Rupert as the two Red Stacks started to move again. They were just out of sight when an urgent whistle sounded from down the railway line.

"That's a mail train isn't it? Oh no, the bridge! It's-! It's-! Wait a minute. I've got it! Maybe if I can get that steel ridge under the bridge, maybe it will hold while a train gets across! It's worth a try!" Said Churchill.

"Don't waste time cutting the barge free, take me with you!" Called 'Lord Stinker' from his barge.

"You're willing to take that risk Stinker?"

"Of course I do, it's only rubbish!" Chuckled the old man as they headed towards the damaged bridge.

'Lord Stinker' quickly connected the garbage barge with the steel barge, and Churchill started to pull with all his might. It was hard work all the same, and time was quickly running out. The train had been signaled through, so there was no chance for anybody to stop or warn it. With a final pull, the steel ridge was in place, just as the train came into view, brakes screaming as the driver saw the damaged bridge, hoping to avoid disaster. The train slowed down drastically as it slowly crossed the bridge, and safely managing to continue onto the other side.

"Thankfully! It held." Sighted Churchill.

"Well done Churchill, you saved the da-" Started Stinker, as a groaning could be heard from the steel barge.

"Oh no! Look out!" Called Chruchill, as the steel barge started to lean over, sinking, and blocking the canal, the bridge now completely without any support, beginning to collapse, just as another whistle rang out. A familiar whistle.

"Oh no! I know that whistle!" Exclaimed the ocean going tug.

"It's the goods train!" Called Edward.

The bridge creaked and groaned, breaking apart, the railway tracks, being the last real connection of the bridge snapping apart, with the larger part of the bridge leaning down towards the canal like a ramp.

"It's impossible! We can't safe this one!" Cried Churchill.

"No it's not! Push my barge under the end of that rail! Quick!" Called Stinker.

"Huh? Oh yes, I see! I get the idea! Alright!" Exclaimed the steam tug, and quickly started to push the garbage barge into position.

"If this doesn't work, you'll be in danger as well Steve!" Called Churchill.

"Don't remind me, just get this thing under the end of that rail!" Shouted the man back, as the barge finally moved into place.

Just a few seconds later, the sound of pistons pumping could be heard, as well as the screeching of brakes and the echoing sound of an steam locomotives whistle, as the goods train screeched into sight. The train jumped from the secured tracks onto the broken bridge, the locomotive sliding down and cruising into the garbage, while some of the trucks piled up behind it or landing in the canal.

"It worked! Stinker you're a smelly old genius, nothing less!" Cheered Churchill.

"Hmhm, took some brain to save that train." Mused Franklin.

"I'll never complain about your barge or its smell again Stinker." Said Churchill with a sigh of relief, as the crew of the goods trains locomotive climbed out of the cab.

"Hehe, rubbish can be valuable stuff..." Chuckled Stinker.

"Hey, care to explain where the bridge went?" Asked the driver.

"Hehe, you can ask the Red Stacks, as soon as they get back again." Chuckled Churchill.

 **A few hours later, goods warehouse**

"Welp, looks like we're all clear now." Smiled Mac as the two switchers finally grabbed their barges.

"Yep. I bet everyone else had a very **easy** day waiting for the tide to go down." Chuckled Rock.

"Well, speak for yourself then." Came a grumbling, tired voice as Comet limped slowly up next to them. He was dirty, battered, dented and bleeding from several places. His suit was torn and his hair ruffled up, and his eyes screamed from exhaustion.

"Comet?! What happened to you?!" Asked the twin simultaneously.

"I'll tell you all later, once were home." Sighted the tug/destroyer.

"Anyways, who took over my duties while I was gone?" Asked the railway tug further.

"Oh, Churchill did. He also delivered Lord Stinker and his barge. Bet he skippered off somewhere quiet for the rest of the day afterwards." Chuckled Mac.

"Hehe, yeah, somehow, he always manages to take everything nice and easy." Chuckled Rock.

"Well, might as well enjoy it as long as you can. When I got back into port, I travelled along with Prometheus, and Typhoon was with him as well." Grumbled Comet as the two younger tugs gulped.

"I think there is trouble on the horizon." Muttered Mac, and the other two agreed.

By late afternoon, work already started on repairing the bridge. There wasn't any extensive damage to the goods locomotive, and the wagons that were still in one piece were easily recovered. The steelworks weren't pleased with the damage the Red Stacks had done to their steel construction, however, they got at least something out of it, namely, the repair contract for the railway bridge. And without any doubt, the steelworks needed little convincing that the Steam Tugs should get the contract for the steel delivery.

"A destroyed bridge, a blockage of an important spare railway line into the harbor yards, a damaged JNR Class 9600 goods locomotive, seven trucks and their loads completely destroyed, another three trucks damaged and it's loads destroyed as well, the Sendai sisters will be down for at least three days, and we nearly lost both Fubuki and that tugboat today. You know that this isn't really a successful report on the preparations for operation 'Black Flag', right?" Asked a high ranking admiral, higher than the admiral of the naval district.

"We had some minor setbacks, nothing that should interrupt with carrying out operation 'Black Flag' though. We will keep to the timetable and be ready by the given date. The 'Kraka-Toa' shall be finished within the next days and will be loaded with fuel and ammunition as planned." Stated the admiral.

"I hope that there won't be any further 'interruptions' in the near future. Any delay could risk our exposure and the success of our mission. You should know what this means, especially for your career." Said the higher ranking admiral, and turned to the door without as much as a goodbye.

The admiral sighted, looking out of the window again. The evening sky was glowing red as the sun was going down at the horizon.

"'Red sky at night, shippers delight'... Let's hope it really will be a delight..." Sighted the admiral before standing up and heading for his sleeping quarters as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**And here is part two of my double update! I think once you've finished this one, you'll understand why I uploaded these two chapters on the same day. Enjoy!**

While the tugboats were working in and around the harbor, Comet was waiting with the fleet girls in the briefing room for their mission briefing. Comet was tiredly checking the pocket watch he had gotten from one of the older railway engineers who had been close to retirement. He had been working endlessly over the last few days, with Rebecca gone back up river to work with her fleet again, he had to take over all the car ferry duties, and while Comet sometimes got assistance from Mac and Rock, they couldn't take over those duties full time, and hence Comet would sometimes pull up to four railway barges across the bay, double that of the allowed number of barges.

"Ugh, right now I would be halfway across the bay with my first transfer. I hope captain Walters has a good temporary replacement..." Muttered Comet, tiredly and concerned.

"I bet he already has someone covering that." Smiled Mutsuki.

"I hope so. Otherwise Mac, Rock and I have to do double nightshifts over the next few days to get the work done." Huffed the tugboat, as the door opened and secretary ship Nagato walked in.

"Good morning. Following the attack on the supply convoy from the rearward supply lines, the admiral decided to send out a group to patrol the route and destroy any potential attackers. You will be guarding the 25 mile long sector from the south most part of the northern islands until the end of our radio range. We have arranged that supplies will be stored there for the duration of this operation, hidden out of sight in case that any Abyssal comes past and destroy them." Explained Nagato.

"How long will we be patrolling the area?" Asked Comet.

"We are currently expecting another attack within three to five days from now on. We will sent decoy ships along the route to lure the Abyssal out and destroy them. Your normal duties will be covered, so don't worry about those. If there aren't any further questions, you are dismissed. Be ready for launching in 15 minutes." Finished Nagato before she left the room.

"Huh, the northern islands aye? That's usually the furthest Prometheus and Churchill went out before the Abyssal started this whole stuff..." Murmured Comet.

"There were some settlements long ago, but they were abandoned after the first attacks." Said Sendai as they went towards the launching stations.

"Is that so? Maybe they have stored the supplies there?" Suggested Fubuki.

"We should've asked Ms. Nagato where they stored them..." Yawned Comet as they walked into the launching station.

"We just have to wait and see Poi." Said Yuudachi.

The squadron quickly launched and was soon near the northern islands. From afar, they could already see the abandoned settlement, plenty of smaller houses were silently looming from the embankment that lead further inland, while rusty cranes stood at the piers.

"That looks spooky..." Muttered Mutsuki.

"Ugh, don't tell me you believe in ghosts." Shuddered Comet, trying to shake the tiredness off of him.

"No! I just don't... like it here. That's all!" Grumbled Mutsuki.

They slowly stopped at the pier, where Jintsuu gathered them.

"Okay, we will move in pairs of two, patrolling the sector with two hours intervals. Comet, we need you to stay here and guard the supplies in case someone **does** come across and finds them." Said the light cruiser.

"Alright. I'll get my bunker moving. Might as well get useful and find a good lookout point while I'm at it." Yawned Comet again as he steamed off towards some of the warehouses.

"Okay, I will go with Sendai, Naka will go with Yuudachi and Fubuki will go with Mutsuki. We'll be going at 1015 hours. Make sure to stay hidden and keep your eyes on the horizon." Ordered Jintsuu as she and Sendai started off on their patrol.

"Aww, there's no one here to listen to Naka-chans songs!" Whined Naka.

"Let's search for a good place from where we can watch the open sea." Suggested Mutsuki.

"Good idea. I wonder where Comet went to. Maybe he found a decent spot?" Pondered Fubuki.

"Wondering where your boyfriend went to poi?" Asked Yuudachi cheekily.

"D-don't be silly!" Stuttered Fubuki, a light pink blush covering her cheeks.

"Ah! She's blushing!" Pointed Naka out, as the others giggled.

"Fubuki, do you like Comet?" Asked Mutsuki in between her giggles.

"Well, yes, but only as a friend! He helped me out so many times in the short time he knows me, and also believes in the good within other people. He works so hard to make sure that he keeps up to the expectations of his friends and puts the sake of the others in front of his own." Said Fubuki, not noticing that she was rambling, nor that her blush had now deepened in color.

"She is totally in love with him poi." Whispered Yuudachi to Mutsuki, who nodded with a smile.

From within one of the closer warehouses, they could hear a loud rumbling, followed by a crashing sound, as out of the roof, a slight dust cloud rose into the sky.

"Let's check in there." Suggested Fubuki quickly as they headed towards the old warehouse, both Mutsuki and Yuudachi already planning on a way for Fubuki to get closer to Comet.

They quickly entered the warehouse through the gates, and saw a small pile of supplies, along with an letter that was pinned to a wooden support beam next to the pile. On top of the pile, covered from head to toe in black coal dust, and pretty much knocked out was Comet, slightly snoring as he slept on top of the supplies. He had dropped his work suit which was stored next to the pile and above it was another floor with a hole in it.

"From what I'm guessing, he was so tired that he fell asleep while standing, tumbled over, crashed through the floor and landed on the sack of coal underneath him." Stated Naka.

"Well, we can't let him sleep on the supplies, let's get him off of them." Said Fubuki, as she started to take her outfit off and placed it next to Comets.

She quickly walked up and lifted the sleeping tugboat onto her shoulder, being surprised how heavy he was, since he was rather slim in stature. She struggled to lift him up, while the steam tugs body weight was slowly pulling her down.

"Could you give me a hand?" She asked a bit shakily.

"Sorry Fubuki, it took us a bit to take our outfits off." Apologized Mutsuki as she grabbed Comets other arm and lifted it onto her shoulder as well.

"Where did you learn to take your outfit off that quickly without the helping apparatuses at the launching station?" Asked Naka.

"Comet taught me. He usually helps the engineers with their locomotives and has gotten used to quickly taking his outfit off and putting it on again." Explained the special destroyer, while Naka and Yuudachi got a mischievous glance in their eyes.

"Uhu, so you could say Comet taught you how to 'undress quickly'." Sniggered Naka.

"I didn't thought you two were **that** far already poi." Giggled Yuudachi, as Fubuki started to blush deep red again.

"W-what are you thinking about?! Comet and I would never-!"

"Thats what you say, but I think the expression on mr. Sleepyhead here tells something else." Interrupted Naka, as Fubuki turned to the railway tug, who had snuggled his head into the space between her shoulder and neck, creating a very suggestive scene.

"C-comet! Stop it!" Whispered Fubuki, blushing madly in embarrassment, although deep down she somewhat enjoyed it.

"M-Mutsuki, I think we can drop him here." Said Fubuki as she and her friend dropped the tugboat on the ground, the railway tug frowning slightly at the loss of warmth.

"...Fubuki..." Muttered the tugboat in his sleep.

"Huh?" Asked Fubuki, thinking the tug had woken up and spoke to her.

"Must... protect Fubuki... can't lose her..." Muttered Comet, before he went silent again. Fubukis blush turned an even deeper shade of red as the railway tug made her heart flutter slightly.

"Alright, we found the supplies and I think we can cover the port entry and most of the sea further out from within here quite well. We just have to be careful when being on the upper floor in case another board gives way." Said Naka, unusually serious for once.

"Just in case we do get spotted in here though, we should make sure that we can quickly get out of here. I hope Comet has woken up before that happens..." Continued the light cruiser as she checked the old clock that hung inside the building.

"Eeeh?! How did it get 11:50 already?! Yuudachi, we need to get ready soon! Fubuki, Mutsuki, make sure that nothing happens while we are out. Jintsuu and Sendai should return in an hour as well, so you won't be alone for too long." Explained Naka as she and Yuudachi got back in their outfits again.

They went out for their patrol round right on time, while Fubuki and Mutsuki stayed back inside the old warehouse with their sleeping friend.

"Fubuki, I'll go and look for something where we can put our outfits on! Anywhere is better than on the cold floor!" Called Mutsuki from the back of the warehouse, where the doors to the village was.

"Okay! But don't wander off too far! I'll be on the upper floor and keep a lookout for anything on the water!" Called Fubuki back, as she climbed the old wooden stairs, each step being accompanied by an unnerving creaking of the wood.

Once on the upper floor, she saw a large hole in the middle of the floor. She made a large detour around it, and got to the other side. There, she saw something lying on the ground. She picked it up, surprised that it was what she thought it was.

"Comet must've dropped it when he broke through the floor. I better return it to him once I'm back down." She muttered to herself, as she put the revolver into a pocket.

Mutsuki soon returned with an old handcart, on which the put their outfits on. Afterwards, they climbed onto the second floor again and continued to survey the ocean for any enemy movement. The day had started sunny, but now thick gray clouds covered the sky, blocking the sunlight.

"I hope it won't start to rain." Sighted Fubuki.

"I don't really mind the rain. But I wouldn't want to fight against an Abyssal in a downpour..." Said Mutsuki, as a low rumbling could be heard from afar.

"Sounds like thunder..." Gulped Fubuki.

"'Red sky at night, shippers delight. Red sky at morning, shippers warning'." Said Mutsuki.

"Where did you learn that?" Asked the special destroyer.

"The admiral once said that. It means that, if the evening sky is glowing red, the next day will be calm, but if the morning is glowing red, there is going to be trouble on the waters. I remembered how the sky glowed red last evening, but it looks like this time it's different." Explained Mutsuki, as suddenly, they could hear a sound, as if a bell was ringing in the distance.

"Huh? W-What is that?" Asked Fubuki, a bit scared.

"S-sounds like a bell." Replied Mutsuki, somewhat scared as well from the sound.

"But Sendai said this settlement was abandoned after the Abyssal first hit!" Exclaimed Fubuki, as the bells continued to ring.

The bells continued to ring for a further few minutes, before they stopped. Both destroyers were creeped out by the strange occurrence. Just then, they could see Jintsuu and Sendai, slowly heading towards the port entry. The two destroyers were relieved when they saw that company arrived at last, and quickly went outside to greet them.

"Welcome back!" They waved, as the two light cruisers stopped at the edge of the pier.

"Did you hear the bells as well?" Asked Sendai.

"Yes. But we don't know where they had come from!" Said Fubuki.

"We saw a church, built further up the embankment. I think that's where the noise was coming from." Said Jintsuu.

"But you said this place was abandoned!"

"That's what we thought as well. Come on, we'll store our outfits with the supplies and head up to the church to warn whoever is up there that it isn't safe here." Said Jintsuu as she and her sister exited the warehouse, Fubuki and Mutsuki following them nervously.

They were slowly walking through the abandoned settlement, the houses emptied of any life and giving off a spooky atmosphere. This only increased when they reached the church. It was nailed shut, the woodwork already rotten through, and some planks from the church tower lying next to the tower on the ground. They pulled off the wooden planks covering the doors and walked inside the church. Inside, it was dark and quiet, just the low howling of the wind from outside made any noise in the large building. They headed towards the church tower, but when they reached it, they were in for a surprise. The bell was with them on the floor, it's support beam had given way and the bell crashed down, destroying the stairs up towards the tower platform with it. The four ship girls suddenly felt very nervous, as that destroyed the suggestion that the church bell was the noise they heard.

"M-maybe we should return to the warehouse?" Suggested Jintsuu.

"G-good idea." The others stuttered in agreement as they turn to get out of the church.

They walked back down the embankment when they heard a noise that made them all froze in their place. The bell rang again. They slowly turned around towards the church tower, but didn't saw a bell inside it. They walked even faster, almost running back towards the warehouse. Once inside, they quickly locked the door behind them and rushed towards the cart on which their outfits rested.

"Okay, who is in for it that we never speak about this, ever again?" Asked Sendai, shaken out of her wits as the others agreed.

Half an hour later and it was Fubukis and Mutsukis turn to go on patrol. They had already received message from Naka and Yuudachi that there was no trouble to see on their run, so both Fubuki and Mutsuki left the small settlement without much worrying. They did, however, quickly made their way past the church when they were on level with it, and quickly went on their way across the waves down the shipping route. It was easy work, and they soon passed Yuudachi and Naka who were returning to the settlement, glad to get back into cover before the storm would hit. The water was starting to get rougher, waves were building and rain started to fall as the two destroyers finally reached the marking point which marked their sectors end.

"Here Mutsuki, no unusual activities in our sector, we're heading back now." She reported back to Jintsuu, but was confused when she didn't get an answer.

"Mutsuki to Jintsuu, can you hear me?" She asked but still got no reply.

"Fubuki! I think something's wrong back at the settlement!" Mutsuki said.

"Right! Let's head back!" Nodded Fubuki as she started to race back towards the island. However, when they were halfway there, they were greeted by a flock of Abyssal air units, who promptly opened fire at them.

"Now we know what's wrong! The Abyssal! They found us!" Shouted Fubuki as she started to fire at the Abyssal, Mutsuki doing the same.

The two destroyers were fighting hard, but weren't built to fight against that many air units, and got hit more than once. Fubuki just took down another unit as she saw a further one in the corner of her eye, heading towards her. She turned around, but was too slow as the unit already unhooked its torpedo and dropped the payload onto the unfortunate ship girl. Fubuki was thrown backwards, lucky to still be afloat, but was now unable to defend herself, as the torpedo took out her main turret.

"Fubuki! Get out of here! I'll cover you!" Shouted Mutsuki but Fubuki didn't think for a second to abandon her friend.

Just then, she noticed the slight weight in her pocket. She reached into it and pulled out Comets revolver, which she had forgotten to put back into the tugboats own pocket.

'I never shot with this thing before. It looks so easy with Comet. I have to try! I have to help Mutsuki!' Thought the destroyer to herself as she pulled up the Revolver like Comet usually does.

She looked at her target and fired, but the shell didn't hit its intended target but another air unit behind it. Fubuki was confused, until she remember what had happened a few days ago...

 _Comet was on the training range with Fubuki like usual, he and Rebecca had managed so well today that captain Walters allowed Comet to take some time off for training. Comet was most pleased as he made his rounds across the range, when he looked over to the side, seeing Rebecca sitting on her own on the stone pier._

 _"Hey Rebecca! Want to try?" Asked the male tugboat._

 _"I'm not sure if I'll be able to fire that thing, much less hit anything!" Retorted the female tug._

 _"Oh don't you worry! I'll show you how you fire this 'thing'!" Laughed Comet as a spark went through Fubuki that made her stop training._

 _Over the last few days, she had always felt a little jealous whenever she saw Comet and Rebecca work together, and the same feeling was building up within her again. Rebecca slowly came up next to Comet who reloaded the shells into the revolver, before handing it to her._

 _"Now, I usually shoot with one had only, but since you never shot with a gun before, you should use both hands." Explained Comet, as he held Rebecca's hands lightly, making her hands grip the revolver lightly._

 _"Okay, right hand grabbing the grip like any normal object, left hand underneath the right hand for support. Yes, that's how you hold it. Okay, legs spread, shoulder wide should be enough. Now" he leaned closer, their cheeks almost touching, making Rebecca blush lightly. "Look through these rear two points. Can you see the third little point on the front of the barrel?" Asked Comet._

 _"Y-yeah..." Stuttered the tug girl._

 _"Alright, once all three are in one line, you are on sight. Just aim at the target over there and then gently pull the trigger once you feel you are ready. Take your time." Finished Comet, as he got away from Rebecca's side._

 _Rebecca did as Comet instructed, and after checking that she was aiming properly, slowly pulled the trigger. A few seconds passed, and she thought the gun was malfunctioning, before she unconsciously pressed a little harder, and the gun fired, sending the shell smashing through the target, as well as her onto the waves. Comet quickly helped her up._

 _"Well, it was alright for a first try. But next time, don't let your guard down once something doesn't works the first time. Otherwise you'll just end on your bunker again." Chuckled the male tugboat._

 _"I'll remember that. Can I, um, can I get another try?" Asked Rebecca._

 _"Sure! Come on!" Chuckled Comet as they got into position again. Fubuki witnessed the scene and went back to her training, this time a bit more intensively than before..._

Fubuki pulled the revolver up again, spreading her legs to the width of her shoulders, and grabbing the revolver with her right hand firmly, supporting it with her left.

"Two dots... And once all three are in line, I'm aiming correctly..." Muttered Fubuki, as she dodged another attack from an air unit. The unit wasn't so lucky though, as Fubuki used it to turn her theoretical knowledge into practical skills. She pulled the trigger, easily managing the recoil, and hit the unit, destroying it with one shot.

"I did it!" She cheered, but had to focus on the mission again, as the air units continued to torment them. It took a lot of time, but finally, all air units were destroyed.

"Quickly! If they sent their air units for us, then they are probably attacking the shipping route right now!" Said Mutsuki as they both raced back towards the island to warn the others.

However, as they got closer, they could again hear the ringing of the bell, accompanied by the sound of shells being fired at something. Both destroyers picked up the pace, trying to contact the others again.

"Jintsuu! It's Mutsuki here! What's going on?!" But only static came as a reply.

They rounded the curve and saw the settlement, or rather, what was left of it. Plenty of the houses had been destroyed, turned to burned out wooden skeletons. The warehouses were wrecked, plenty of which nothing more than rubble, the piers were bombed out and the rusting cranes had been blown into the water. Swimming in said water was a group of eight Abyssal ships. A destroyer, two light cruisers, an aircraft carrier, two battleships, a small boat which they guessed was an Abyssal tugboat and the most shocking sight of them all; a black and red dressed tugboat with red base cap. In front of them, battered, bruised, and out of commission were Sendai, Jintsuu and Naka, while the tugboat was tying the three light cruisers together for transport.

"They are trying to take Sendai, Jintsuu and Naka away!" Exclaimed Mutsuki.

"We have to stop them!"

"But how? We're only two destroyers."

"I will distract them, you will get the Sendai sisters away from here and get help."

"But you're risking your own life that way!"

"We have no other option right now!"

Mutsuki sighted, and then hugged Fubuki.

"Be safe, okay?" Fubuki hugged her back.

"I will. Stay safe as well." Said the special destroyer, as Mutsuki hid behind the bent of the port entry, while Fubuki looked at the Abyssal ships again. The two battleships were continuously shooting at the building in the settlement, trying to destroy the building out of which the bell ringing came. The destroyer was collecting the supplies that were left, and the aircraft carrier was with the tugboat, probably being its escort back to their home base.

'Where is Comet?' She pondered, as she saw that he was nowhere to be seen.

Then, a thought overcame her. What if he still was asleep when they attacked and he was crushed underneath the collapsed building? She shook the thought off and tightened her grip on the revolver. She remembered how Comet drew the attention to himself when they took down the Abyssal dreadnought. She inhaled deeply and blasted her air horn loudly, gathering the attention of the enemy ships. She quickly left her hiding place and crossed to the other side of the port, taking pot shots at the ships in the port. She did managed to hit the aircraft carrier, as well as one of the battleships before she picked up speed and raced off. The Abyssal ships didn't liked the idea of an easy prey getting away that easily, and quickly, the battleships, cruisers and the red tugboat hurried after her. Once Mutsuki saw the final Abyssal ship disappear, she pulled her turret up, aiming at the aircraft carrier, before firing a salvo. The shot hit true, destroying the runway of the carrier, rendering it useless. The other two ships were surprised and Mutsuki wasted no time and switched her aim at the destroyer, who was scrambling to get her into his aim. Mutsuki fired, and hit, tearing through it and detonated the stored munition, successfully sinking the destroyer. The aircraft carrier and the tugboat started to get away, defenseless against the destroyer and her firepower, pulling the three Sendai sisters behind them. They tried their best to get away quickly, but Mutsuki kept firing at them. As they passed one of the destroyed warehouses however, there seemed to be an explosion from within it, as a large dust cloud rose to the sky and over the waters next to it, engulfing the two fleeing Abyssals and the three light cruisers. Mutsuki had to stop firing in case she'd hit the Sendai sisters. But she got a surprise as the sound of shells rang out from within the cloud. A few seconds later, the cloud had dissolved, and she could see the Sendai sisters, cut loose from the Abyssals, which were slowly sinking. Next to them was Yuudachi, who was smiling brightly at Mutsuki.

"Hehe, that was a blast poi." Giggled the destroyer.

"Where were you?" Asked Mutsuki.

"Me and Comet were stuck inside the warehouse, he had slept through the collapse poi! He woke up when he heard Fubuki blow her air horn and tried to dig through the rubble poi. I think he hit a shell in there and blasted us a hole out of there poi." Explained Yuudachi.

"But where is Comet?" Asked Mutsuki, searching for the tugboat.

Fubuki was racing forwards, trying to get away from the pursuing Abyssal ships, which were continuing to bombard the destroyer. She kept close to the coast in hope that the shallower waters would keep them at bay, but they kept following her regardless of how shallow it was. The cruisers and one of the battleships were keeping up the bombardment, while the other battleship aimed above her, at the cliffs. It fired, making the rock crashing down onto the water and, unfortunately, on Fubuki as well. The destroyer was hit by several of the rocks, making her crash onto the waves, destroying parts of her suit, and cutting into her flesh. She screamed in pain, as she slowed to an stop, the battleships, cruisers and the tugboat stopping in front of her. The battleship was staring down at her coldly, until her face turned into a cold, evil smile. The tugboat next to it was smirking in pure delight.

"Not so tough anymore, aye? Silly little destroyer." Sniggered the tug.

"R-Rodney?" She asked.

"Wow, how long did it took for you to figure that one out?" Asked the rogue tug sarcastically, but couldn't continue to taunt the destroyer as the battleship held up its hand for him to be quiet.

" _Special destroyer Fubuki. You will suffer for what you did. You and all the pesky Fleetgirls_." It said, shocking Fubuki.

It grabbed Fubuki by her arm, but the destroyer wasn't going to give up without a fight. She raised the revolver, shooting at the battleship, who was blasted off of her, hissing in pain and anger. Fubuki fired again, this time at the cruisers and the other battleship. Two hits went towards the battleship, another two hit the cruisers, before the final shot hit the ammo depot of the first cruiser, making it explode and engulfing the second cruiser partly. Fubuki fondled with the gun, trying to reload it, but as soon as she loaded the final shell, the battleship that tried to grab her the first time punched her into her stomach. Fubuki went down, and the battleship kicked the hand holding the revolver, kicking it into the air.

" _Foolish child! You will pay for this as well! Your death will be a slow one, I'll promise you this_." Hissed the battleship, pulling her by her hair and whispering the threat into her ear.

Unbeknown by the ships, the revolver had been caught mid fall, and the ship which caught it was slowly coming up behind them.

" _Rodney, get her tied up, we'll get the others and bring them home_." Ordered the battleship, to which Rodney grinned in delight.

"Aye aye, boss woman." Smirked the tug, as he gripped the rope that was attached to his belt and began to tie Fubukis hands, to which she struggled in an attempt to stop him.

"Hold still you little Bi-!" But he couldn't finish his sentence as two rapidly following shots from behind them interrupted him.

They looked behind them, and saw how the cruiser started to sink. Another two shots rang out, hitting the second battleship in the rudder and engine, rendering it inoperable. They looked around, confused and alerted, when they finally saw him. Battered, bruised, covered in coal dust and with several deep cuts in his arms and on his face, was Comet. He was glaring at them, his revolver already directed at the battleship, as his glare turned into a slight grin.

"You shouldn't have tooled with the third torpedo squad. Time to hit the waves scrapheaps." Smirked Comet, as he pulled the trigger and hit the battleship twice, both shattering its turrets and making it defenseless.

" _Rodney! Take care of this one, I'll take care of the destroyer_!" Growled the Abyssal.

"With pleasure." Smirked the diesel tug as he handed her the rope, unaware that he hadn't tied her up correctly.

The battleship was starting to move out but Comet wanted to stop it from doing so. He quickly dashed forwards, but was stopped by Rodney who threw himself against the steam tug, throwing him off course and onto the water. The steam tug got up quickly as the rogue tug stood opposite of him.

"I always knew you were a rotten piece of float. Never thought you'd step so low as to betray your own comrades though." Spat Comet.

"Pah! I'm better off with the winning side. They at least see sense that we are better. And now I'll show that to you. Once, and for all!" Smirked Rodney, as he launched himself against the other tug.

Comet rolled his eyes and moved out of the way of Rodney's charge, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him backwards, making him land on his back. He got onto his knee and quickly punched the former Red Stack a few times into his face, before getting out his revolver again, grabbing it by the barrel.

"You are nothing more than a big show off and loudmouth. You'll die if you keep it up. Come to your senses or meet your demise." Hissed Comet coldly.

"Piss off you stupid steamer powered relict." Hissed Rodney back, but mumbling heavily, blood gushing out of his nose.

"So be it." And Comet quickly hit the diesel tug on his forehead with the grip of his revolver, knocking the diesel tug out.

"I've got to stop that battleship." Said Comet and steamed off, in the direction he saw the battleship leave.

A few miles further out at sea, he saw a blur, moving across the waves. Comet knew that it could only be one thing, and sped up, racing across the water. He got closer and closer, seeing more details and knew that it was Fubuki and the Abyssal. Fubuki had managed to loosen the knot on the rope, and was waiting for the perfect time to flee. The Abyssal looked at her, and saw Comet a bit further behind them.

" _You won't destroy my plans for this destroyer, you foolish tugboat_!" Shouted the Abyssal, as it sped up.

Fubuki knew that it could only be Comet, and quickly slipped her hands out of the rope. However, her suit was in too much of a damage, and she couldn't move forwards on her own power any longer. The battleship noticed that Fubuki had cut herself loose and stopped, turning back only to see that Comet had caught up with both of them, standing in front of Fubuki, handing the destroyer his revolver and six shells for her defense, before glaring daggers at the Abyssal battleship.

"You will **not** take her away from me, YOU HEAR?!" He shouted, making both Fubuki and the battleship look at him in bewilderment.

" _Oh, so you've got something for her then? That explains some things. But it won't help you_!" Replied the battleship, moving up against the tug.

Comet didn't evade, he stood firm and took in the charge of the battleship, putting on full power in order to stop the Abyssal in its tracks. The battleship punched him, several hard hits landing on his face and rips, but he stood strong. He retorted with punches of his own as well, kneeing her into her stomach and ramming his elbow into her back, hoping it would cause some effect. The battleship buckled under the blow to her back, but stood upright quickly, continuing the unfair fight against the steam tug.

" _You won't be able to safe her little tugboat. Just give up. Otherwise, you will both just lose your lives_." Smirked the battleship.

"You don't get it right? I don't care what happens to me, how many cuts I get, how many shells I take in, how many blows I take. All I care, is that, at the end of the day, she returns to the port as safely as she departed from it. For that, I'd even sink myself." Smirked Comet, as the battleship scoffed.

" _That can be arranged_." But before the Abyssal could continue its assault, several shells hit the water next to them. It looked into the directions from where the shots came from, and saw Mutsuki and Yuudachi heading towards them, towing the three Sendai sisters with them.

The Abyssal let go of Comet and took a few steps backwards, but before it could turn around, from behind it, a steam hooter and two air horns rang out.

"Aha! An enemy! By the powers entrusted by the international sea protection association, I hereby arrest you!" Came a posh voice as a Prometheus and another tug dressed in a gray uniform came up from behind them, a large goods vessel in tow.

The battleship, knowing that it was outgunned and outnumbered, growled in anger that it had to abandoned its prey.

" _This time you're lucky. Next time, that destroyer **will** pay. And you'll be watching her demise. I'll make sure of that. Make the most of today, steam tug_." And the Abyssal quickly turned and started to race off, evading the incoming shells from the two destroyers and ignoring the orders shouted by the gray dressed tugboat. They all gathered where Fubuki and Comet were resting, the former held tight in the laters arms, who was whispering his apologizes into her ears.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have fallen asleep like that. I should've been there and helped you." He whispered.

"Good work Comet old chap! You did well in protecting miss Fubuki here!" Said Prometheus, as he patted the railway tugs back.

"Good work?! He let that Abyssal get away without even as much as a second in trying to stop him! That was assistance of avoiding law enforcement! I can get you court materialized for this!" Burst out Typhoon, glaring at the smaller tugboat with his silver – grey eyes, while trying to smooth out his grey uniform in order to look presentable for his superior officers, aka the destroyers.

"Typhoon, just stow it for now." Sighted Comet, tired from the whole ordeal, as the naval tugboat started to get really mad about the steam tug.

Comet couldn't care less and carefully helped Fubuki to get back onto her way towards the naval district.

"Say, did Comet ever tell any of you steam tugs if he had a crush on somebody?" Asked Mutsuki Prometheus, who helped the two destroyers to tow in the three light cruisers.

"If you want to ask if he confessed to any of us if he has a crush on miss Fubuki up there, I have to disappoint you, however, we all suspect it for quite a while now. It surprises us all that he hadn't told her already." Chuckled the large tugboat as the two destroyers sighted.

"I wouldn't worry though, I have the feeling it won't be too long now before one of them tells the other what he feels for the other." Reassured Prometheus, as Comet slowed down his pace to speak to the ocean going tug.

"Hey Prometheus, remember that settlement on the northern islands? The ones you and Churchill would go to?"

"Hmhm, quite so, yes. What about it?"

"Well, Fubuki just told me about something strange that happened there. She said that there was a bell that continued to ring, even throughout the Abyssal attack. Do you know anything about it?" The larger tug's expression turned into a slight frown at the question.

"Yes, I do. That was the bell of the S.S. _Cassandra_. Also known as _the death bell of Captain Starr_." Explained Prometheus somberly, as the others shook when they heard its title.

Prometheus, knowing that they wanted to know what happened continued.

"Captain Starr was a noble man who came from a long line of proud sailors. He lived in the settlement on the northern islands and was captain of the S.S. _Cassandra_ for many years. The S.S. _Cassandra_ was one of the most beautiful ocean liners of her time, and carried plenty of people across the oceans. Even on the day the Abyssal started to attack. There had been rumors about strange beings sighted on the ocean, but nobody thought much about it. The S.S. _Cassandra_ , was the first ship to be sunk by them. At the time the _Cassandra_ was hit, more than 1000 passengers were on board the ship. Along with them was a crew of 400 sailors. The attack happened so fast, that in the end, only four men survived the attack. Captain Starr was one of them. The _Cassandra_ quickly sunk beneath the waves, but a few days later, the bell of the ship was found on the coastline close to our harbor. It was given to captain Starr, who placed it in his office in his home. A few days later, he was found dead in his seat, overlooking a news article of another attack from the Abyssal. Official explanation was that he got a heart attack, but many believe that it was a relative to one of the passengers or crew members of the _Cassandra_ who killed him in grief of their loss. He was soon buried on the graveyard near the church, and his house was closed off until one of his family members would come and decide what to do with it. Then, one week after he was buried, people called and claimed that somebody was ringing the bell inside his house. The police came and investigated, and there it was: the bell stood in its place, ringing slowly, but nobody was there who'd pull the cord. The neighbors were spooked, and believed it was the ghost of captain Starr. They took the bell and put it into the towns council for safekeeping, but the very next day, the ringing of the bell could be heard again inside the house. They checked, but couldn't find the bell anywhere, but the ringing still came from inside the room. Nobody could explain why or where the sound came from, but they hadn't got any time to figure it out, for that very night, the Abyssal attacked the settlement. Afterwards, they decided to abandon the settlement, and with the abandonment, the phenomenon of the ringing bell was left in the town as well. Or it would be, if it wasn't for the fact that the bell was taken away from there as well." Explained Prometheus.

"Who took the bell? And where?" Asked Comet, awestruck from the story.

"It were the three other survivors of the attack on the S.S. _Cassandra_. Captain Walters, captain Red and the admiral."

"Wait! **They** were the three survivors?!" Asked Mutsuki, shocked as the others were. Even Typhoons mouth was gaping at the reveal.

"Indeed they were. Returning from an important meeting following the increasing amount of sightings of 'strange creatures who roam the sea'. They brought the bell to the harbor, where it has remained ever since."

"Why haven't we heard from it then? Surely the others would have seen or heard it a few times since it got to the base!" Asked Comet.

"You have to ask the admiral about that my dear. As for the second part, it did rang out. Plenty of times in fact. However, you couldn't hear it. It always sounded on this very island. I am not sure why or how. It is a mystery in its own right."

"Alright alright, enough fairytales for one day! Come on, come on! We have to get to the base, we are expected there at 1650 hours!" Barked Typhoon, who got out of his awed silence.

Comet rolled his eyes and picked up speed, but only so much as he'd thought would still be comfortable for Fubuki to travel at.

"You keeping up Fubuki?" Asked the steam tug.

"Uhu." Murmured the destroyer.

"Thank you for saving me." She continued, her voice almost too silent to register.

"No problem. I couldn't let them take you away from your friends right?" Retorted Comet with a chuckle.

"...From you..." She murmured.

"Huh?"

"You said 'You will not take her away from **me**.' What did you mean by that?"

"I- uhh, what I meant was..." Stuttered Comet, flailing to find an answer.

Fubuki chuckled lightly, her eyes partly closed already.

"Hehe, you're cute." She whispered, before kissing him for just a second.

Comets safety valve blew off within a few seconds following the kiss, as his hooter blasted loudly, pulling the attention of the others onto him. He had a deep red blush on his face, and looked like a deer caught in the headlights, before his brain began to work again. He suddenly noticed that the weight on his shoulders had increased. He looked over at Fubuki, alarmed at seeing that the girl had passed out.

"Oh no. Oh no! F-Fubuki! Wake up! Please! Come on, wake up, don't do this to me, I beg you **please**!" He called, not caring if anyone heard him.

"Comet? What's wrong?" Asked Prometheus, not seeing what the matter was.

Comet didn't reply, he just started to accelerate quickly, racing off at full power, not caring if he'd run himself into the ground back towards the harbor.

"I think something has happened with Fubuki!" Said Mutsuki.

"Let's head to the base quickly then Poi." Agreed Yuudachi.

"Mr. Prometheus? Could you take care of bringing the Sendai sisters in?" Asked Mutsuki.

"Of course my dear. Just make sure our friends are alright. I have the feeling poor Comet is running himself to pieces again." Said the ocean going tug as he took over the three light cruisers.

"Hey! You two! Slow down this instance! You are going way above the allowed speed for pursuing operations of this type!" Barked Typhoon as the two destroyers rushed after the tugboat.

"I think if a life is on the line, one can make an exception Typhoon old chap." Mused Prometheus as they watched the other ships hurrying back to the harbor.

"Pah! Sentimental hulks! No wonder we haven't won the war yet..." Grumbled the naval tug as Prometheus sighted. This was ought to be one long way home.

When the two destroyers finally caught up with the steam tug, he was already passing the harbor gates. He rushed to the launching station and carefully removed the suit from Fubuki, making sure to not harm her in any way. After he got her out of the suit, Comet ripped his own suit off, and carried the destroyer to the docks. He was panting hard, his own injuries tearing at his remaining energy as he burst through the doors, and wobbly made his way to the docking stations, in which he carefully placed the destroyer. The clock above the dock quickly started to calculate the time needed for Fubuki to get back to full health. Comet didn't registered it. His own fatigue finally caught up with him, his injuries burned, and his muscles ached. He tumbled over, and fell into Fubukis dock, the clock winding another time, doubling the already given time. Mutsuki and Yuudachi came in just in time to see Comet falling into the dock, and quickly went to prevent the tug boat from drowning.

"What is going on here? Mutsuki? Yuudachi? What happened to Fubuki? And where are the Sendai sisters?" Asked the admiral as he and captain Walters walked into the docks.

"And what happened to Comet? He looks like he just came out of a head on collision!"

The two destroyers quickly explained everything that had happened during the mission. They also explained them about their meeting with Rodney. The admiral and captain Walters listened to every word and looked at each other in worry about the development.

"Thank you you two. You can go and refuel, then go and help Prometheus in getting the Sendai sisters and the goods vessel into port. Pick up Edwin for help, he should be free by now." Said the admiral and watched as the two destroyers left the docks.

"So it really was Rodney who was with the Abyssal. I just can't believe it..." Muttered captain Walters.

"Comet continues to surprise us with every new day. Holding a battleship at bay, bringing a destroyer into port whilst having severe damage and injuries and still keeping conscious until he was sure that said destroyer was alright." Mused the admiral.

"He really does love that girl, doesn't he?" Smiled Walters.

"Hmhm. Any idea who will take over his duties while he is in the docks?"

"Not yet. I'll look who can be spa-" his sentence was cut off when the sound of water splashing could be heard behind them.

They looked around and saw how Comet slowly and wobbly walked through the doors.

"That stubborn young fool!" Cursed Walters as he hurried after the tug, trying to stop him.

When he caught up with the tug, he stood directly in his path.

"Comet! Get back into the docks on the double! You need to get repaired! You are in no condition to work!" Ordered the captain, but Comet just walked around him and continued on his path towards the launching stations.

"Need... To... Get... Back... To... Work..." Wheezed the tug as he got back into his suit and started to move off to his usual pickup stations.

"Dedicated and crazy. Bad mix, for his sake." Sighted Walters.

"We really need someone to help him... I'll call to captain Stone. Maybe he can lend us Rebecca for another few days." Said the admiral as he hurried back to his office as the steam tug got smaller in the distance, black smoke and long, drawn out steam clouds marked the way the battered up tug took.

"I do hope she can." Murmured captain Walters as he returned to his office.

Comet, Mac and Rock slowly walked back towards the tugs home. The two switchers had accompanied their 'older brother' when they noticed how badly damaged he really was. The railway tug was almost completely out of power when he fell through the door, but was quickly caught by the two switchers. Bull and Boomer came to their aid and brought the railway tug to a chair, bringing him into a sitting position.

"Thanks guys, but I am able to get myself sitting you know." Said Comet, but it was more a wheeze than a sentence.

"Not by the way ya look to me." Argued Bull.

"You look like you've got hit by the wrong end of the cutters torch!" Added Boomer.

"If I were you, I'd head to the docks immediately Comet." Said Churchill.

"I can't! I have work to do!" Wheezed the tug, before coughing slightly.

"By the look of things, it seems that if you keep working, you will fall apart as soon as you get out there again Comet my dear." Said Prometheus.

Comet stared at the larger tugboat, almost glaring at him, before sighting.

"And what should I do? I can't just take some time off, there is too much work for me alone, I can't just take some time off knowing that there is no one who can take over!"

"You won't have to worry about that. The admiral called captain Stone and they have come to an agreement. For the duration of the increased workload, Rebecca will help with the workload. She will take over your duties tomorrow morning. Mac and Rock will help whenever they have time until you have returned from the docks. And that's exactly where you are heading now! And I won't have any of your excuse against it!" Said captain Walters as Comet sighted.

"Very well sir..." Sighted the railway tug as he got up and wobbly started to get to the docks.

"Hey! Wait Comet!" Called Mac and Rock simultaneously as they hurried to help their friend.

"And you lot need to get to sleep! The 'Kraka-Toa' has been finished and needs to be loaded tomorrow! We'll have to help as well, so get up bright and early tomorrow!" Called the captain as the other tugs all nodded and headed to their beds.

Mac and Rock brought Comet to the docks, and handed him to the men who were already waiting for him.

"Huh? Welcoming committee or somethings?" Murmured the tug.

"Nope, but the male sector of the docks are closed off for maintenance. You have to be repaired in the docks for the female ships." Explained one of the workmen.

"Just my luck." Sighted Comet as he slowly made his way to the changing rooms. After changing into his swimming trunks (the tugs all agreed to wear them in the docks for privacy reasons) he got back to the workmen who blindfolded him so that there would be no chance that he would see anything he wasn't supposed to see. They led him to one of the docking stations and once he was inside, went away. Comet waited a few seconds after they left, before yanking the blindfold off his eyes.

"Useless rubbish. I wouldn't peak any..way..." He grumbled, but stopped when he noticed that he was in the docks right next to Fubuki.

His head got bright red again, as he noticed that they had taken off Fubukis clothes, but the embarrassment quickly changed to anger when he noticed that some random workman had undressed his Fubuki.

'Woah! Wait a sec! **My** Fubuki? Where did that jump from?!' Thought the tug, before shaking his head violently.

"I think I'm getting weak in the boiler now... I need to get some rest. This day was waaay too long..." Sighted the tug as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"C-Comet...?" Came a very well-known voice next to him, as his eyes flew open, all the tiredness gone and an unknown energy rushing through his veins.

"Fubuki? Oh thank god you've woken up!" Sighted Comet.

"W-what happened?" Asked the destroyer.

"We were heading home when you suddenly passed out! I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you're ok!" Explained the tug.

"R-really? How long was I out?"

"Uhh about 4 or 5 hours now. By the look of your timer, we won't be getting out of here before tomorrow though..." Said Comet as he looked at the timer, seeing how it slowly counted back from currently 19:43:52 hours.

"How come you need to wait longer than me? Didn't you get in here the same time I did?"

"Uhh, well, I did, from what Mutsuki and Yuudachi told me earlier, I passed out after I brought you in, but once I woke up, I kinda got out again to get back to my work..." Murmured the tug, slowly sinking into the water.

"Why did you do that? You were in much worse state than I was, you need to get repaired more than I need to!" Exclaimed the destroyer.

"I couldn't leave the others with my jobs as well as their own. They are overworked as they are. I couldn't give them the burden of taking over the car ferry duties as well! Plus, knowing how captain Walters would probably put Churchill onto car ferry duties, I couldn't have him put together with Franklin and Edward for longer than one day. Even that is way too long for the sake of peace in this harbor. But now that captain Walters has gotten Rebecca back to take over some of my duties, I can take a short break." Explained Comet, as Fubuki tensed slightly.

"How long will she stay this time?" Asked the destroyer.

"As long as the increased workload keeps up. Afterwards, I'll have to manage on my own until captain Walters or the Red Stacks get another railway tug." Explained the railway tug, before noticing that Fubuki had tensed up.

"You alright? You look a bit tense."

"Y-yeah, I'm alright." Stuttered the destroyer.

'Why am I so jealous of Rebecca? She didn't even do anything to make me turn jealous...' Thought Fubuki to herself.

' _Hehe, you're cute_...'

Fubuki shivered as the scene suddenly got into her train of thought again. She now completely remembered what had happened before she had passed out. She started to blush bright red at the thought, something the tugboat noticed as well.

"Did you catch a cold? Should I go and get some medicine or something?" Asked Comet as he started to get out of the docking station.

"N-n-no! E-everything is alright! Just, please, stay inside!" Answered Fubuki, getting even redder as the tug started to get out of the water.

"Alright then." Murmured the tug concerned, sinking into the water again.

The two ships fell into silence again, both of them not knowing what to say.

'What is going on? Why did I... why did I **kiss** Comet?! What was I thinking?! What is **he** thinking of **me** now?!' Thought the destroyer, scared that she might've scared off the tugboat.

'Why is she so strange now? ...Is it because of the kiss? Does she think I hate her now? What should I do now?' Thought Comet concerned.

"G-good night Comet." Murmured Fubuki.

"Good night little Blizzard..." Muttered the tug as they both went quiet again, both blushing lightly again because of the nickname Comet gave her.

 **Looks like things are getting interesting now, don't they?** **We're slowly getting closer to the main event of this story :) Don't worry though, the end is still quite a way away at this point, but we are steadily making progress.**


	8. Chapter 8

**After quite some time, I have returned from my duties within the real world with my longest chapter yet! (At least in this story). Although, I guess one can count this one as two stories compressed into one... Anyways, thank you all for your patience and your nice reviews, always glad to know that some people have an oppinion about the stuff that I write ^^ Anyways, have fun ready you lot, and keep being awesome!**

As ordered by captain Walters, all tugboats got up bright and early, gathering around the briefing/breakfast table. Rebecca had arrived only half an hour earlier with some of her maintenance equipment, spare clothes and similar things. She had already settled in well, helping Edwin in keeping Mac and Rock in check.

"Morning boys! Rebecca, thank you for coming down here again and helping us out! We need all the help we can get today, the men at the dry docks have finished the repairs on the 'Kraka-Toa', and both we and the Red Stacks have to help in refilling her with the supplies she had carried while being attacked! Edwin! You need to lay marker buoys in the old docks! Leave no openings for shortcuts! You know how the navy is if anything doesn't goes according to their regulations! Our job will be to handle the munitions!" A low grumble went through the room, the tugs knew this would the difficult work.

"No grumbling it's a good regular contract just get on with it! And besides, Red Stacks got the explosives! Give them a wide path if you see them, that goes especially to you Boomer! No high waves or anything like that!"

"I don't make any high waves captain Walters!" The others chuckled at their clueless friend's remark, even captain Walters.

"Not really you don't, garbage detail, as usual for you Boomer."

"Ugh, and we all know who is going to be working around with us here. I can't stand that Typhoon ordering us about as if we are his minions." Sighted Churchill.

"Well, if you don't want to see him, maybe you'd like to take the garbage detail then?" Suggested Boomer cheekily.

"Me? How could you even suggest such a thing?" Asked Churchill, his nose wrinkled up in disgust.

"And less talk from you Chruchill or you **will** find yourself on garbage detail!" Threatened captain Walters, while Boomer left the room to get his work suit, and the others laughed.

"It's not funny! Such work would spoil my image." More laughter followed the remark.

"Okay crew stow it! Churchill, Prometheus! You need to tow the 'Kraka-Toa' from dry dock to the loading ports, then Churchill will help Rebecca with car ferry duties! Churchill, I won't accept any arguing!"

"Ugh, do I have to put up with this horrible crew?" Muttered Churchill, more to himself than to the others.

"Hey captain Walters, we just about had it with Churchills insults! He's more worth tow than he's pulling!" Puffed Mac.

"And that's not very much either, aye Mac?" Chuckled Rock as the twins laughed, but both got hit on the back of their heads by Rebecca.

"He said stow it." She scolded.

"Thank you Rebecca. Now then, Mac! Get to the docks, they have the brand new oil barge stored there! Get it filled up and bring it to the loading ports!"

"'Right sir!" Nodded Mac.

"Well said Mac, he's a pain in the funnel..."

"The way he moves about, he's more a pain in the neck!" Laughed Mac on his way out as the others joined in.

"Rock! Go to the canal! Pick up Mighty Mo, they finished their repairs on the railway bridge, you have to bring his crane back to the storage area!"

"Alright! Will go! Awfully quick they were on finishing those repairs..." Muttered Rock as he followed his brother.

"John Bull! Thanks for winning us the steel contract!"

"No problem sir!"

"You pick up the last girder barge, then get back here and prepare for munitions transfer!"

The Red Stacks were up river at the munitions factory, picking up the explosives for their share of the contract. The contract itself had been split in three parts, munitions, explosives and fuel. Munitions were handled by the Steam Tugs, explosives went to the Red Stacks and the fuel was transported by the railway. The explosives sector was the most dangerous part of the contract, but was worth a great deal of money for captain Red. As for this, he had put Richard in charge of the operation.

"Alright, listen here you two! Towing this stuff is the trick bit! Roger, you move first."

"Alright."

"Go slow and don't take any nonsense from the kettles. Show them explosives don't scare us. If they come too close just-"

"Blow them up!"

"Yeah, but with your hooter dummy! No silly games, okay? You don't have to be **that** brave."

"Okay Richard! Sir!" Saluted Roger, as he started to move out

"And watch out for the naval twerp Typhoon! Remember! Your orders are to deliver this barge directly to the naval tramper 'Kraka-Toa'. If Typhoon gives you any different orders, ignore him and refer him to me! Just keep it steady! And keep the danger flag flying! Rupert! You're next!"

"That Typhoon said that he was in charge and that I should follow orders..." Said the Red Stack.

"You are following orders, **mine.** Remember that. Now go!"

"I'll remember that..." Muttered Rupert as he got moving.

"Eat your heart out steamers. This job is more worth than 20 garbage jobs, ferry trips or girder tows. If we don't get blown up that is..." Muttered the oldest Red Stack to himself, as he made final checks before starting as well.

"Alright, easy does it..." He mumbled as he slowly started to follow his two fleet members.

Meanwhile, Prometheus was resting alongside the 'Kraka-Toa' after roughly towing her in with Churchill. It had been rough work as the current was constantly working against them, and if that wasn't enough, Typhoon had constantly given senseless orders, irritating the two ocean going tugs to no end.

"Attention! Attention! You, Prometheus!"

"Attention nothing. I'm finished here old darling and I'm heading out."

"Oh no you don't! Not until I check things out!"

"Check all you like sweetheart, I'm needed elsewhere."

"You are under navy jurisdiction! Obey orders, and wait and let me do my inspections!"

"I **am** under jurisdiction, **captain** **Walters',** and a little lightweight like **you** won't tell **me** what do to."

"Aha! We'll see about that laddie!" Sneered the naval tug, but Prometheus was already moving out.

"Hey! Prometheus! Stay here! That's an order!" Called the naval tug, as he started to follow the Steam Tug.

"You dratted civilian! One of these days I'll get you into a naval convoy and I'll teach you a lesson or two! And then you'll know what orders are all about!" Barked Typhoon, but his shout fell on deaf ears.

Prometheus slowly made his way across the bay, when he came across Edwin who stood near the old docks, overlooking the row of marker buoys he had placed earlier.

"Phew, that Typhoon is ordering around like a madman. Orders come before common sense from his point of view." Sighted the large tug.

"I had a run-in with him too earlier Prometheus. 'Keep those buoys in line!' He shouts. As if I haven't been doing this job in every naval exercise. 'Report to me when you've finished!' He says. He thinks I'm too old for the work he does." The old paddle steamer looked over to the 'Kraka-Toa'.

"Some unsafe seamanship that is. Taking fuel and explosives aboard the same ship! One wrong lit match and it's a firework I wouldn't like to witness!" Exclaimed Edwin.

"Well Edwin my dear, I'm going to take a short rest at the coal depot, it was a hard tow and I feel a bit low." Said Prometheus as he started to move off again, as a fierce blasting of a hooter came from behind them, and Typhoon rushed in.

"Oh oh..." Muttered Edwin.

"Keep them in line! Straight as an arrow! I'll check them out as soon as I'm done with my inspections!" Barked the naval tug.

"We should work together, not fight each other! Never fought when I was a young tug." Murmured the paddle steamer to no one in particular.

A little while later, Typhoon was making a delivery to the 'Kraka-Toa' when he came across Mac, who had just picked up the oil barge from the docks.

"Ahoy! Ahoy there!" He called, blasting his hooter.

"Ahoy! You, with the oil barge! You are in my way and you idle! I don't like idling tugs, so you better move and move fast, that's an order!" Barked the naval tug, not noticing that he got too close and made his barge scratch against the oil barge.

"Oy! Oy! You naval twit! You scratched a brand new barge deliberately!" Fumed the small switcher.

"I gave an order to move out of my way! This port is the most indisciplined I've ever worked in! If I order you to jump, you jump! And that barge is conscripted for a naval purpose! And if I want to scrape it, I will! I will scrape you too, if you don't get to your post on time!" Argued the naval tug.

"I'm always on time! And you know it!" Exclaimed Mac.

"You better be! Or I'll make sure your suit will be stowed away in the launching station before you can even notice it's gone! It's about time you steamers live up to your name! Now get some steam up in your boiler and turn that screw! Mobilization, that's what I want! Mobilization!" Barked Typhoon, starting to move again, as he scratched his barge against the oil barge again.

"Oy! Oy you get back here! Oy! You scratched it again! Oy! Ugh, Red Stacks are bad enough but that Typhoon? He's something else!" Grumbled Mac as Typhoon headed further away, ignoring the steam switcher.

Comet and Fubuki were still in the docks, silent and bored, but too nervous because of the previous day's events. The docks workers had been bringing them breakfast and earlier on, Mac had passed by and talked a bit with them before he picked up the new oil barge. Comet sighted, trying to figure out something to pass the time. Absentmindedly, he started to whistle a small tune, which Fubuki noticed.

"I wish I could whistle as well..." Muttered Fubuki.

"You can't?" Asked Comet.

"Not really. I never learned."

"It's actually pretty easy. You need to move your lips as if you would kiss somebody, leave a small opening between your lips and blow air through it." Said Comet, as he showed her how it looked.

"Like this?" Asked the destroyer, as she copied the movements, and whistled a tone.

Comet blushed a bit when he saw her lips, ready for him to kiss them.

"Y-yes, that was good! See? You can whistle!" Smiled Comet.

"Just because you showed me how." Smiled Fubuki back.

"Well, that's just the start! Now that you know how to whistle, you can whistle songs as well!" Chuckled the railway tug as Comet whistled a small melody.

"That sounds nice, what's that song called?"

"Sentimental Journey, it's a pretty old music piece, but it is such a calm melody, I fell really relaxed whenever I hear it." Explained Comet.

Just then, a siren rang out, as from above them, two buckets rolled in from behind the walls.

"Instant repairs? Nice!" Grinned the tugboat as the buckets were emptied into their docking stations.

"Ahhhh, wonderful. I'm feeling ready for everything now!" Laughed Comet as he jumped out of the water.

Fubuki blushed bright red as she saw the male tug, but was relieved when she saw that he wore swimming trunks.

"Uhh, could you give me a towel Comet?" Asked Fubuki.

"Sure! No problem!" Grinned the tug as he quickly grabbed a towel and brought it to the destroyer.

"Here you gooooOOOOOAAAHHHHH!" Shouted Comet as he slipped on a water puddle and fell onto his back, throwing the towel forwards towards Fubuki in the process.

"Comet!" Fubuki quickly grabbed the towel and climbed out of the dock, but didn't noticed the puddle as well and slipped on it too, falling onto Comet.

"Ugh, that's a bloody good start outside of the docks..." Groaned Comet as he looked down at Fubuki.

The tugboat was glad that he didn't wore his suit, as his safety valve probably would've blown off the second he looked down. The towel was lying next to the two, and Fubuki was now lying on his bare chest, completely naked. Fubuki stirred, lifting herself from the steam tug's chest as she rubbed her head.

"Ouch. Are you alright Comet?" She asked, but was confused why he was blushing so much, and why he covered his eyes with his hand. Then she looked down.

The embarrassed scream could be heard all the way to the other side of the harbor.

Five minutes later, Fubuki and Comet got dressed and explained the scream to the dock workers. They didn't say what really happened, for the sake of both of their dignities. The admiral waited for them outside of the docks.

"Good to see you two back on your legs again! Now, you still got some time off, Rebecca is looking after your car ferry duties with Churchills help, and the third torpedo squadron has been pulled out of any planned maneuvers until the Sendai sisters are back on track." Explained the admiral.

"Where exactly are they? We didn't saw them in the docks." Asked Fubuki.

"They were pretty beaten up. We put them into a special, separated part of the docks, for emergency cases. They need at least five days until they have completely recovered." Explained the commanding officer.

"Oh. Okay then. Some time off then. Might as well go and help Mr. Brady a bit. Haven't got any time to ask him how he and his engine are doing." Mused Comet.

"Very well. Oh, Fubuki? Could I talk to you for a minute?" Asked the admiral as the two were about to leave.

"Uh, okay sir. What is it?" Asked the destroyer.

"Could you keep an eye on Comet? He still needs some time away from work; his body might have healed, but his mind is still fatigued. Please make sure that he won't do any of his usual work, at least for today." Asked the admiral.

"Okay sir." Nodded the destroyer as she quickly ran after Comet.

"Hmhmhm, I hope they'll enjoy the little 'surprise' Allan and John prepared for them." Chuckled the admiral as the two ships walked along the stone path towards the dockside engine sheds.

At the sheds, several locomotives stood in their berths, some owned by the governmental railway, others owned by the dockside railway, and one familiar locomotive owned by the navy and operated by the Steam Tugs fleet. Mr. Brady was just finishing the final touches on his engine before her first trial run when Comet and Fubuki walked up to him.

'Just as planned.'

"Hello you two! Glad to see you walking about again! What brings you to me?" Asked Brady.

"Just wanted to check up on you and her. Fit for another service life?" Asked Comet.

"Well, let's say she's able to run again. She'll go to the works sooner or later for some major work on her motion parts, but for now, I need to bring some empty tankers up to the lake, and get some full ones down here again. Orders by captain Walters."

"What are you filling them with? Fuel?" Asked Fubuki.

"No, fresh water from the lake. The fire tugs need fresh water for their tanks. Salt water would do as well, but it would clog up their pipes sooner or later. Their main water reservoir is running low, so they ordered a trainload of water to be on the safe side again." Explained Brady, before thinking, and snapping his fingers.

"I know! How about you two tag along! Might be exactly what you need, some change of scenery after all that fighting! Some time to relax up at the lake. I doubt either captain Walters or the admiral would mind." Smiled Brady.

"You really think that's okay?" Asked Fubuki.

"You've got the all clear from the engineer, that's all you need from the official side." Winked Allan.

"What do you think Comet?" Asked Fubuki, but was startled when she saw that the railway tug was already gone. A loud whistle came from the engine, as the missing tug looked out of the cab.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Shouted Comet as Brady jumped aboard the locomotive and took over Comets place.

Fubuki walked up to the stair leading up to the engines cab, when a hand was extended down to her. She softly took it into her own, and was smoothly pulled into the cab, standing just a few inches away from Comet.

"W-welcome aboard..." Muttered the steam tug, before getting back into reality, Fubuki doing the same as she blushed and looked away.

"Comet, can I rely on you being my stoker?" Asked Allan.

"Sure thing! Nothing I can't handle!" Grinned the tugboat as he grabbed the coal shovel and walked to the tender, Fubuki following him with her eyes, concerned since her orders were to **keep** Comet from doing work.

"Are you sure you're fit to do such work already?" She asked

"Sure I am! A little coal shoveling is nothing compared to car ferry duties!" Laughed the Steam Tug as Fubuki eyed him with an concerned look in her eyes.

"If you say so..." Sighted the Fleetgirl.

"Anyways, you can sit over there on the left side of the cab. All you have to do is to call out any signal you see. Just say if it's red, yellow or green." Explained Comet as he pointed to the seat on the left cab side.

As soon as the destroyer sat down, Comet dug into the pile of black rocks in the tender, and skillfully swung it around, throwing it deep into the fire hole that Mr. Brady opened just seconds before. They repeated this ordeal a couple of times before Comet put the shovel into the coal pile and patted Brady onto the shoulder. The man nodded and smoothly started the locomotive, making them slowly roll down the tracks towards the yards. After a short stop next to a small house that Comet told her was a 'signal box', they rolled backwards into the yards where a long row of tankers stood, painted deep black, with gray lining. Next to them was another line of trucks, these however, were normal covered ones, with the letters 'GPW' on their side. A few minutes after they backed down to their train, a small tank engine backed down to the covered trucks.

"Hello Puffa! Where do you bring this lot?" Asked Brady.

"To the 'Kraka-Toa'! That's some leftover munition and explosives that hadn't fit onto the barges of the tugs anymore. She'll be fully packed once that stuff is aboard her!" Said Preston as the tank engine was coupled up to its train. A shunter quickly came over and attached two red flags on both lamp irons at the front of the engine, before the signal rose and the supply train set off towards the loading port.

A few minutes after the munitions train departed, the signal rose for the tanker train. With a short blast of its whistle, the old tender engine pulled the train out of the yards. Fubuki looked in awe as the buildings, vehicles and dock workers passed her, standing back in awe at the sight and sounds of the mighty locomotive working on her journey. Some even waved, to which she happily waved back.

"First time riding a train?" Chuckled Brady.

"Well, first time where I decided to travel with it." Said Fubuki, thinking back to the day where she thought she'd never see her home again.

"Hehe, then you picked a bloody good one! This route has quite the scenery!" Laughed Allan as the train made a turn, the wheels clacking as they crossed over the double tracks of the main line, verging off onto a small branchline.

They trundled down the single stretch of track, through dense forests and over covered bridges. A few small stations were passed on the way as well, where the station masters were waiting on the platforms, greeting the train with a short wave. Fubuki hadn't even noticed how much time has already passed, she was too occupied watching the scenery and taking in the sights she had never seen before. Comet's attention was split between his work as the fireman and watching Fubuki enjoying the run, his smile spread across his face as he kept doing his work without fuss or grumble.

"Okay Comet, enough coal! We're nearly there anyways! Get some rest, you'll need it!" Said Brady as he closed the fire door.

Comet sat himself onto the edge of the coal bunker, pulling out a handkerchief and dried his forehead with it. The forest got less dense, and the first few houses started to come into view. One large house was built closely to the railway lines, only a wooden fence marking the border between the buildings grounds and the railways track bed. Brady grinned when he saw where they were.

"Hey Fubuki! Comet! Come over here!" Brady called.

The two ships walked over to where Mr. Brady stood, who quickly pushed both of them to the controls of the locomotive.

"Woah! Hey, easy on us Allan!" Called Comet, who blushed at the close proximity to Fubuki, the memories of the 'incident' still fresh in their minds.

"You can complain later! Blow the whistle! Quick!" Urged Brady with a grin as he got to the cab entry.

Comet looked at the engineer in confusion, but grabbed the whistle cord nonetheless, pulling it and letting the whistle howl. A few seconds passed before the windows of the building were opened and dozens of children leaned out of them, waving at the passing steam train as it ran past their school. Fubuki and Comet waved with large smiles at the kids, before they passed underneath a road bridge, and disappeared out of the sight of the children.

"It's an unwritten law that we blast the whistle whenever we pass the school. The kids just loves it when we pass by." Grinned Brady.

"You could've warned us though!" Chuckled Comet.

"I could've, but I would have spoiled the surprise then." Chortled Allan as they swapped places again. Brady noticed that, although they weren't squeezed onto the engineers seat anymore, they still were standing close to each other.

'Either it's working or they are too daft to understand what both mind and body are telling them already.' Thought the engineer as he slowly applied the brakes. The train slowly entered the goods station, and stopped on one of the few tracks that were there. Next to them were several long strings of log trucks, and a train of covered trucks with fish symbols on their sides.

"Where is the train with the water?" Asked Brady.

"Still loading. Fish blocked the pipes and delayed the loading. Looks like you have to stay here for a while I'm afraid." Said the shunter as Brady sighted.

"Looks like we've got some time to kill. You might as well go and take a look around the town. I'll stay and take care of the engine. Just get back when you hear her calling, alright?" Said Brady.

"Okayyyyy, but where should we head off to? Never been here, apart from the river..." Murmured Comet.

"Ah don't worry, I know a place. Nice little cafe near the lake. The food is good and the view fantastic. Just tell them I sent you there, they still owe me something." Explained the engineer as he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the name of the cafe in it.

"Thanks Allan! I'll repay you for this!" Said Comet as Fubuki already headed for the yard entry.

"No problem kid. Just have a good time with little Ms. Fubuki over there." Winked Allan as he jumped back into his locomotive and before Comet could call out to him, he already started to drive the engine backwards towards the small turntable at the other end of the yards.

"I hope you can keep your silver tongue in check..." Murmured the tugboat as he walked towards the yard entry, a bit afraid that Brady might spill his secret to Fubuki.

The two ships slowly walked down the small cobblestone streets, passing smiling people who were strolling down the streets to go shopping or to get some lunch at the diners that were placed in between the rows of shops. Comet couldn't help but smile when they passed a diner that once has been a railway passenger coach. Soon, the lake came into view. The town had a small civilian port where several small sailing boats were docked at. Further up the river, another, larger port was set up for industrial use, mostly for the transportation of logs and already cut wood, but also for mineral transport won out of the nearby hills, such as iron ore, coal and bauxite. They walked alongside the port, passing the small boats and some of their owners who greeted them, since they knew Comet, as well as the other tugboats. Soon they left the port behind them and walked down a smaller road, which wound itself upwards onto a hill, where they could see a nice quaint building, built out of wood with several chairs and tables outside for visitors who wanted to enjoy the late summer weather.

"Looks like that's the place Brady told us about." Said Comet.

"Didn't really take us that much to get here. Although we probably walked through the whole town on our way here." Exclaimed Fubuki.

"Well, there are another few parts of the town, and there is still the main industrial complex further up the lake." Explained the tugboat as they finally stood in front of the cafe.

A waiter, who was serving a few customers, came over to them after he finished to write down their orders.

"Welcome to the "Riverside Queen" cafe! You're one of the steam tugs that pass through here, aren't you?" Asked the waiter.

"Uh, yes, I am. I'm Comet, I'm from captain Walters fleet. And this is Fubuki, the-"

"The famous special destroyer! I read about you! You helped to prevent the failure of operation MI! You are quite the star around here." Grinned the waiter as Fubuki blushed brightly from being praised like that.

Comet didn't liked what he saw. He thought that the waiter was a bit **too** informal with Fubuki, and before his common sense could stop him, he already stepped up next to Fubuki and held her hand. Fubukis blush deepened at Comets action. The waiter, noticing what was happening, smiled on the inside, as he faked to be intimidated by taking a small step back.

"Um, if you'd like to take a seat, I'll be along shortly to take your orders." Said the waiter as he headed inside.

'Brady was right, that tug sure is protective of that girl.' Thought the waiter as he went inside.

"Uh, what was that?" Asked Fubuki as they sat down at a table that was overlooking the bay.

"What was what?"

"You holding my hand and him suddenly rushing off." Said the destroyer, a bit suspicious about what had just happened.

"He still works here and had just taken the orders of somebody else. Surely they would want to have their stuff brought to them sooner or later. He just wanted to get his work done." Said Comet with an fake calm expression. Internally, he was cringing at himself.

'Great, **just** great! I'm ruining everything for myself! Why did I get so jealous?!'

"Maybe..." Muttered the destroyer, not completely convinced by the answer.

They sat in silence at their table, which had a good view over the lake. Soon the waiter came back, and they ordered their drinks.

"It's quite nice here." Said Fubuki, as she looked over the lake, at the scenery on the other side of it, where a large forest and several high hills further at the back created a rather beautiful scene.

"Yeah, too bad you and the other fleet girls never come up here. I bet they would love it as well." Sighted Comet.

"You know that we can't. You remember what happened the last time everyone left the base, right?" Said Fubuki, as Comet shivered.

"Don't remind me, I was scared our house would collapse under that Abyssal bombardment! But we never managed to repair the house since then. Sure, we secured it so much that it won't collapse, but still, it really needs some work done soon." Sighted the tugboat, as both went silent for a few minutes.

The waiter came and brought their drinks, and took their order for their meals before going again.

"Say... Do you have any idea why the Abyssal wanted to take you, or the Sendai sisters, with them?" Asked Comet out of the blue.

"Not really. I am surprised that the Abyssal even take prisoners. Up until now, all they did was destroy, without leaving anything left to capture or to take as prisoners. From what that battleship said though, it wanted to take revenge on me for some reason." Said Fubuki, her hands a bit shaking as she relived the memories again, only to calm down again when Comet took one of her hands into his own.

"Everything is alright Fubuki. There is no way they will get you, not while I'm still have a say in it." Said Comet calmly, a soft smile on his lips, as Fubuki got a light pink hue on her cheeks again, before returning that smile.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"No problem little Blizzard." He said, before he started to blush and Fubukis blush started to deepen as he used the nickname again.

"I-uh, sorry Fubuki, slip of the tongue-"

"I-I don't mind!" Interrupted Fubuki quickly, before calming down as she noticed that some of the other guests looked at them now.

"I don't mind.. you calling me like that... I kinda like it..." Muttered Fubuki, blushing as she turned her head in an attempt to hide her blush, while still looking at him.

It didn't hid her blush however, but rather gave Comet an even deeper blush as he thought that Fubuki looked absolutely adorable like that. His mind went blank and his throat went dry as he tried to come up with something to say, but found himself at a loss at the sight of the beautiful girl that was sitting opposite of him. Before the silence got awkward though, the waiter returned with their food, to which Comet was immensely grateful for.

"Still can't believe so many diners and cafes have western food here! I mean, I wouldn't mind some rice, but nothing beats a good old fashioned cheeseburger with some proper fries!" Smiled the tugboat as Fubuki gave him a confused look.

"Don't you eat curry or rice with the other tugs at your home?" Asked the destroyer.

"Nope. We usually have Bull as our resident cook, but sometimes Edwin, Churchill and I take over the cooking. Sometimes it's steak, sometimes burger, roast beef, or other stuff. We also learned some stuff from the people living here. Mamiya alone taught us plenty of recipes over the time we are here, however, we rather stick to the stuff we are used to. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some foreign food every now and then, but I'm not so much into raw fish..." Answered Comet as Fubuki pondered about just how different they actually were, besides their different tastes.

After finishing their lunch and explaining to the waiter that Mr. Brady sent them and that this would cover what they owed him, they slowly walked back towards the railway yard. However, Comet seemed to recognize where they were, as he walked slightly ahead of Fubuki, and led her down a path they hadn't took before.

"Hey Comet, do you still know where we are? I think we should start heading back to the trai-"

"Here we are!" Called Comet, as he stepped aside and presented Fubuki with what he meant.

They were overlooking a small wooden cottage, with a pier right next to it. Adding the lake and the scenery behind the house, it looked like it was taken right out of a painting. Fubuki marveled the view.

"Wow! That looks beautiful!" She said.

"I passed this cottage several times while crossing the lake. I asked some of the locals, they said that its owner passed away some time ago and nobody takes care of it these days. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm a tugboat, I would probably build myself such a house to live in with my family." Sighted Comet with a daydreaming smile.

"Your family?" Asked Fubuki.

"Yeah, you know, that's what I'd want. A family which I'd love and protect as best as I could. Where my life wouldn't be ruled by a schedule and battle orders, and where I wouldn't be leaving the harbor with the thought in the back of my head that this would be my last time leaving. Where all I would do is to live a normal life like any normal human would do. Go to work, come home, enjoy some time with my family before going to sleep and repeat. I know I shouldn't complain, and I really enjoy my life as a tugboat, but sometimes, I think of how it would've been if I didn't start life as Comet, a railway tugboat inside a harbor, but rather a normal human being who just does what every other human does." Explained the steam tug as they walked further, onto the pier and sat down about halfway down it.

Fubuki was quiet, not knowing what to say. This tugboat had given her quite some things to think about. What would've happened if they wouldn't have become Fleetgirl and tugboat? What would've happened if they were born like normal humans? Would they still work together? Would they be friends? Would they even know of each other?

"...I don't know what would've been if we were born as human. I never really gave a thought to that. But what I know is that you already have a family, who loves and protects you, and which you love and protect as well. And I know my life wouldn't have been so great without you in it." Said Fubuki, Comet twitching slightly as he heard the final part.

'Did I really said that?' Thought Fubuki, slightly panicking as Comet turned his head towards her, a bewildered look on his face.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the distant sound of a steam whistle echoed through the area.

"Oh drat, we've got to go! Come on Fubuki!" He said, as he jumped up, grabbing the destroyers hand and pulling her up with him.

They raced down the streets towards the railway yards, their cheeks red from the rush and from holding each other's hand. After ten minutes of running, they finally reached the shunting yards where the goods train waited for them. Brady was standing next to his engine as they raced up towards him.

"Didn't thought you'd need that long. Come on, we're expected to reach the harbor **before** nightfall!" Chuckled Brady as Comet climbed aboard and helped Fubuki afterwards. Brady swung himself onto the footplate, and walked over to the controls, before slowly opening the regulator and easing the train out of the station and back onto the open line down towards the port.

It was evening and the sun had already sunk beneath the horizon as the train of tankers reached the harbor. They winded themselves between warehouses and along roads as they finally reached the harbors own fire station. The train stopped next to several large tanks, which were connected to the tankers via rubber hoses.

"Hey you two, this might take some while, how about you head home, while I finish this?" Suggested Brady as the tankers were slowly emptied.

"Okay Brady. See you later." Said Comet, as he climbed down, helping Fubuki getting down from the engine again.

"Good night Mr. Brady." Waved Fubuki, as they started to walk back towards the main part of the harbor. As they passed the workshops however, they were called over by Yuubari.

"Jo, Fubuki! Comet! Good thing you passed by here just now! Your equipment's just been finished! Can you bring it to the launching station?" She called to them.

"Sure! No problem!" Called Comet as he walked towards the workshops, not leaving Fubuki any space to answer herself.

The destroyer just sighted and walked after the tugboat. They were slowly making their way back towards the launching station when they saw some strange, flickering red lights coming from somewhere further along the northern side of the harbor.

"Huh? What's that? Looks like the northern lights!" Joked Comet, but then he heard the wailing of sirens from behind him...

 **A** **few hours earlier, at the loading docks**

The day quickly went by, and soon, the night drew in. Large dock cranes like Big Mickeys were kept busy in lifting the munitions and explosives onto the tramper, while long hoses had been connected to the fuel tankers on the railway tracks into the fuel tanks of the ship. Roger and Rupert were waiting close by, already short of their dangerous cargo, while Richards was now being unloaded. All held their breaths, as they knew that one last minute slip up could mean disaster.

"I'll be glad to be rid of this lot!" Chuckled Richard nervously to his colleagues, as a familiar hooter rang out.

"Atten-hut! Attention!" Barked Typhoon.

"Oh no, here we go." Groaned Richard.

"I'm coming aside! Now move aside! You, with the 'R' on your funnel! Move now!"

"You don't mean me mister, do you?" Sneered Richard.

"Yes, mister, I mean you! Move that barge, **now!** My load's first!" Sneered Typhoon back.

"You shouldn't move a barge that's being unloaded!" Warned Edwin from nearby, who was supervising the operations.

"Shut it old timer! This is my pool so I say what goes!" Sneered the naval tug.

"Pah!" Scoffed Edwin.

"Go and get your pension old timer you're past it!" Laughed Rupert.

"Shut it, the paddler is right, we're not going to move that barge mister!" Snapped Richard, glaring at Typhoon.

"I want this fuel unloaded **now!** Oy, you! Crane operator! Leave that barge and unload my fuel now!" Ordered the naval tug, but Big Mickey just ignored him.

"It needs a brave tug to order a shore crane about!" Laughed Roger.

"Yeah, nobody tells Big Mickey what to do!" Smirked Richard, giving a thumbs up to the man in the crane, who ignored him as well, too concentrated in his work.

"Well, **I** do and I'm in charge, so obey orders!" Growled Typhoon, getting fed up by being ignored by the attending tugs.

The, the sound of another hooter came, as Mac moved in with the fuel barge.

"Huh? What's going on? Schedule says I'm next!" Asked the small switcher.

"Don't you start now laddie, wait your turn!" Sneered the naval tug.

"Watch it!" Warned Edwin.

"I don't care what you say, this barge needs to be unloaded, I've got orders too you know!"

"Who's orders?"

"Captain Walters orders! And I'll be unloading now!"

"Haha, we'll see about that! Now stand aside and **let** **me** **through!"** Growled Typhoon as he quickly moved forwards.

"Typhoon, stay back! That barge is unsafe!" Called Edwin

"You don't give me orders! If I want to move, I **move**!" The naval tug said.

"I told you to move this!" And he rammed into the barge.

A barrel tumbled over. Sparks flew. The contents of the barge quickly caught fire.

"Now look what's happened!" Called Typhoon.

"You dummy!" Called Richard.

"Oh no!" Called Mac.

"Start engines quick!" Ordered Edwin, alarmed at this worst case scenario.

"I'm in charge, stay where you are!" Ordered Typhoon, ignoring Edwin's own orders.

"Oh no I don't! I know what was on that barge! Get clear, that whole thing is going to blow!" Called Richard as the other tugs reversed out of the danger zone, with the exception of Typhoon and Mac.

" **Stay** **where** **you** **are!"** Ordered Typhoon loudly.

Big Micky, noticing what had happened, quickly grabbed his megaphone and opened the window towards the quayside.

" **EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! CLEAR THE AREA IMMEDIATELY!"** Shouted the crane operator, in return, plenty of the sailors aboard the ship and on the quayside started to run away from the dangerous area.

" **Stay and obey orders!"** Roared Typhoon.

"Move out! Move out! Save yourselves! Mac, cut your barge rope and pull free!" Called Edwin.

"My barge is clear but Typhoon is blocking the way!" Called Mac back.

"I know what to do! Stay still and cut engines!" Called Typhoon.

"Oh come on Typhoon! Cut it out and let's get out of here!" Barked Mac.

The barge was now completely ablaze, several crates full of explosives already blowing up, spewing flaming hot pieces of debris everywhere, including the ship.

"I can't! I can't!" Wailed the naval tug.

"Come on, try harder!"

"I can't! My engine's cut out!" Cried the tug.

"Edwin! His engine's out! I'm towing him out!" Called Mac through the explosions.

"Don't be a fool Mac! Get out of there!" Called, to the surprise of everyone, Richard.

"He's right! Move out!" Agreed Edwin.

"He's got himself into this mess! Leave him!" Shouted Roger.

"It's too dangerous Mac!" Warned Edwin.

"No matter, you're coming with me Typhoon!" Growled Mac.

"Keep going Mac! Keep going! The tramper is on fire! It will blow any second!" Called Big Mickey from his crane.

Mac quickly grabbed Typhoon by his collar and began to pull him away. The naval tug was still protesting.

"Bring me back immediately! I've got my orders and they say I'm loading fuel here!" Barked the tug.

"You can load all you want after I've got you out of here! Hey Edwin! Where should I put him?!" Shouted Mac.

"Put him at the back! Out of the way, we don't want any more of his orders!" Called Edwin back.

"What?! This is a mutiny! Take me back immediately! Obey orders! Obey orders I say!" Protested the naval tug.

The alarm sirens blasted loudly as the ship, and parts of the dockside were already on fire, the flames hanging high in the sky. Another explosion followed, this time, very close by to Big Mickeys crane.

"Oh no! Big Mickeys dock is going up! And he's still up there!" Called Richard.

"Pull back everyone! He's going over!" Shouted Edwin.

"Stay where you are! I'll move clear!" Called Mickey through his megaphone, as he began to turn the crane on the unstable dock.

"I'll hope he'll get it right, otherwise he'll sink us all!" Muttered Richard nervously.

Further explosions rang out, as the crane shook violently, still turning. Only a few seconds after he stopped moving, the dock on which the crane stood was engulfed by an huge explosion, as the crane moved forwards, turning downwards towards the water.

"Big Mickey!" Shouted Mac, as the crane fell forwards and crashed onto the quayside.

"That's done it! He's falling sideways!" Called Roger.

"But where is Michael?" Asked Edwin, as from out of the operators cabin, the man himself rushed out, climbing over the railing and jumping into the water below.

A few seconds later, the crane fell sideways, crashing into a storage warehouse, which was followed by another huge explosion that severely damaged the crane. Mac rushed forwards before any of the others could stop him and quickly helped Michael out of the water, bringing him to where the other tugs were, at a safe, not burning part of the quay.

"Thanks Mac. I didn't really thought of taking a dive in the sea today to be honest." Wheezed the large man.

"That was too close for comfort." Sighted Rupert.

"It took real skill to make that move." Commented Edwin.

"That fire is getting out of control! Look at how far it's already spreading!"

"Nothing we can do I'm afraid. Help should be on its way by now, they surely must hear the sirens." Comforted Edwin the younger tug, as further explosions went off.

"... I just wish it was here now..." Muttered the paddle steamer.

"Fire department or anything like that won't be much good, look at that tramper!" Called Roger as they all looked at the 'Kraka-Toa'.

From the recently repaired ship, only the outer hull remained, the rest was nothing more than a flaming ball of fire. With several enormous explosions blinding the tugs for several seconds.

Meanwhile, Churchill was occupied with the car ferries and their operators, aka Franklin and Edward, who were taking their time with the railway workmen to unload the trucks. The two operators and the driver of the locomotive looked over to another part of the docks when they heard some loud explosions and saw some red lights from the same directions.

"Looks like someone's having a dockside celebration!" Mused Franklin.

"Oh no, if there would be a party, **I** would've been invited." Mused Churchill.

"Maybe they don't need a long-necked highbrow." Sniggered Edward as he, Franklin and the driver laughed with him.

"Very funny. Certainly, they wouldn't want to have any lowlife scum like you there." Sniffed the ocean going tug, as the sounds of sirens rang out, and several red and white dressed tugs with firefighting barges passed him.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Emergency! Emergency! Get those barges tied up and follow on Churchill! Might need every hand we can get!" Said one of the tugs.

"Yeah! Come on Churchill! Fire at the loading ports!" Called Rock, as he passed the tug as well.

"I'd love to, but these two here aren't in the right spot!" Called the ocean going tug back.

"Always our fault, ain't it Edward?"

"Never his fault, is it Franklin?"

"He could take us along. Never seen such a fire before." Mused Franklin.

"The only fire any of you two get to see, is the one I set onto your car ferries tracks, if you don't get a move on!" Growled Churchill, as the two operators just "ooooh'd" in fake fright.

Meanwhile, back at the 'Kraka-Toa', the situation has worsened, as the fire continued to grow.

"This will go downhill fast if that one's blowing out." Grumbled Richard.

"I feel so helpless." Sighted Mac.

"That were some pretty big explosions." Said Rupert.

"There's more to come yet, just you wait, she was nearly fully loaded before that naval twat arrived! I don't want to know what this will cost the navy. What's on board will rip her apart." Explained Richard as another few explosions went off.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Asked Mac.

"Like what shrimp? Anyways, you've done what you can, now just sit back and watch!" Growled Richard.

"But it keeps spreading, and that means that Puffa and the yards at the dockside will blow up! And they've stored a fuel train there!" Called Mac, as their eyes all went towards the dockside rail line, where the lone tank engine stood, just as its driver raced around a corner and towards his engine.

"You're right Mac! Come everyone! Shout, and warn Puffa!" Ordered Edwin, as they all started to shout at the direction of the little locomotive.

With a loud cry of its whistle, the tank engine started to make its way out of the dock complex, whistling loudly to warn anyone that was getting close to its path. Luckily, the fuel train had been stored on the same track that the locomotive was on, so it simple rammed into the back of the train and started to push the long string of tankers out of the yards, with explosions and flames coming from every side. With a final blast of the whistle, the train rumbled out of the yards, under the cheers of the tugboats. But the joy was short lived. The explosion, which destroyed the yards in which the train stood just earlier, was so great, that it spread the fire onto the fuel barge that floated nearby.

"That's all we needed! The petrol caught fire!" Shouted Edwin.

"And that tank is fully loaded! I must try to get it out to sea!" Called Mac as he rushed forwards.

"Stop! Stay back! If that thing blows, it'll take you with it!" Shouted Edwin.

Boomer was slowly making his way to the garbage dump with Lord Stinker, when they saw the flickering red lights in the distance.

"Look at that! A red sky at night! _Red sky at night, sailors delight!"_ Chuckled the garbage barge operator.

"But the sun went down ages ago! And that's North-Northwest!" Muttered Boomer, as the cogs in his brain rattled with unknown speed.

"Fire!" He shouted, startling Lord Stinker, as he quickly cut the rope as from the quayside, a low, echoing whistle rang out, and a black streak flashed by him.

"What's that?!" He called, shocked, as he saw several dozen tank cars heading **towards** the fire.

Mac was trying to get closer to the barge, the fire quickly spreading across the wooden bodywork of the floating goods transportation device.

"Ugh, it's really hot, won't be able to get a line on it..." Muttered the tug.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Asked Rupert.

"I duno, but rather him than me." Snickered Richard.

"I better push it." Decided Mac, as he pushed against the barge. He only managed for a few seconds though, as the fire burned into his flesh, making him retreat in pain.

"I can't even push it for a few seconds without getting burned! But I need to-" he couldn't continue further as the low, echoing blast of a steam whistle made all their eyes turn towards the railway tracks again.

With screeching brakes and several tankers behind its tender, locomotive #23 rushed into the scene. From the flatbed behind it, two figures quickly jumped down, one heading straight towards Mac. The smaller tugboat looked in awe as a familiar tugboat moved up to him, wearing googles, heavy gloves and a mask to protect himself from the fumes.

"Comet?!" Asked the little tug.

"Here! Wear these! We need to get this thing moving!" Shouted the railway tug, as he rammed against the barge, starting to push it, as he handed the smaller tug another set of gloves.

The other figure raced towards the stationary tugs, handing Edwin a hose.

"Miss Fubuki?! What are you doing?! This is too dangerous!" Said the paddle steamer.

"Just bringing you the hose! We need to stop the fire!" Said Fubuki determined as she connected the hose to her outfit and started to fight the fire with her own yet of water, just as the wailing of the firefighting tugs' sirens got clear for all to hear.

"It's about time you turned up! Give Mac and Comet a hand, they're burning up!" Called Edwin.

"Get that thing out of here quick you two!" Called the fire chief.

"What do you think we're doing here?!" Called Comet.

"We're not here to keep warm you know!" Snarled Mac.

"You lot! Stay back!" The fire chief called to the tugs.

"I wouldn't want to move anywhere mister." Chuckled Richard.

"Who is responsible for this then?" Asked the chief.

"Him. Behind me! Typhoon!" Called Edwin.

"Oh! I've heard of him! The one that's only giving orders, well, he ain't going to give any more orders now, he's in shock!" Their conversation was cut short by another explosion.

They looked over to see a warehouse, black smoke coming from within it.

"Okay! Ground team will move in from the goods train! Those tankers are full with water, the tracks that still are useable will help giving us some ground further away from the water! Rock! Get that fire barge and douse that building over there, it's going to blow any second now!"

"Aye sir, on me way sir!" Shouted the twin.

"And for crying out loud, stop the fire from spreading!"

"Hey Rock! I'm going to take this out to sea! Take care!" Called Mac to his brother.

"Hey what you've got there looks way more dangerous to me! Aye that's a bomb man, just leave it will ya?!"

"We'll be okay Rock! Stop the fire, we'll be back shortly!" Shouted Comet as the two tugs pushed the barge towards the open sea.

"Cut the chat! Rock! Get that barge working and between those flames then swing it around!"

"Yessir!" Cried Rock.

"Fire! Fire!" Called Boomer as he arrived at the site.

"Just in time Boomer! Use your fire hose on those buildings and the oil yard, quick!" Shouted the fire chief.

"Yes sir! Right away sir! I'll do me best sir!"

"There's two things wrong with that thought mister. Boomer ain't moving very fast. His lights may be on but there's no one there!" Sniggered Richard as he and his colleagues started to laugh.

"At least he's in there Richard." Retorted the chief.

Rock was having problems with his building, the flames were growing too quickly and he couldn't extinguish them fast enough.

"Ugh! My building's caught fire now! I can't even see my smokestac-" the rest was drowned in the explosion as the building blew up, Rock wisely taking cover behind the barge to not be hit by any debris.

"Keep laying water on it Rock! Stop the spreading! Stop the spreading!" Called the chief.

The chief looked over to Boomers side, just to see that the fire had already spread into the oil yard.

"Boomer, get out of there! It's going to blow!" Called the chief as the first part of the yard went up.

"I can control it! Don't worry!" Called Boomer back, just as the rest of the oil yard went up.

"Wow..." Muttered Boomer, as the yards blew up.

Then, one of the parts of the oil tanks flew towards him, and grazed his suit, resulting in a metal _clang._

"Ouch! That thing hit me!" Moaned Boomer, as further oil tanks exploded.

"Move back Boomer! Move back!" Shouted the fire chief.

"No chief, I have to look after Mr. Brady and Puffa! They are might good and valuable friends. One has to look after their friends." Said Boomer as he moved closer to the two trains and their drivers.

"Very well Boomer. Richard! Come here and give me a hand with that fire barge here! We've gotta try and save that tramper!" Called the chief.

"Heh, can't see this barge doing much good mister, but you're in charge." Mused Richard as he pushed the fire barge towards the flaming inferno that was the ship.

Meanwhile, out on the open sea, Comet and Mac were still pushing the flaming barge away from the port.

"This is getting too dangerous! That thing is blistering badly!" Coughed Comet.

"It's starting to smoke too!" Called Mac.

"This is very bad! It's going to go any second! Get away from it and head back to the port!" Shouted Comet as he grabbed the smaller tug by the wrist, pulled him around and in front of him. A second later, they and the barge disappeared into a large fireball.

The explosion and the fireball were heard and seen all the way back at the port.

"Mac! Comet! That was them!" Called Rock in alarm.

"C-C-Comet!" Stuttered Fubuki, buckling slightly, almost falling to her knees, her left hand covering her mouth in shock.

"The oil barge! I need to get to them!" Called Rock, but Edwin held him back.

"Stay put Rock! You're needed here."

"But they might need help!" Cried Fubuki, but was interrupted by a large explosion from within the 'Kraka-Toa'. The fire reached the main fuel tank.

"Stay where you are!" Cried Edwin loudly.

"Move out Richard, she's going to keel over any second now, there's nothing we can do!" Said the chief as the two tugs retreated from the exploding ship.

"STAND CLEAR EVERYONE! STAND CLEAR, SHE'S GOING!" Shouted the chief as they all pulled back and watched as the ship leaned to the right, several explosions following in quick succession as she started to completely lean over, slowly sinking lower into the water, and with an final explosion through the exhaust stack, the ship was no more.

"Woooaaahhh, just look at the state of the dockside!" Whistled Edwin.

Large parts of the docks were nothing more than ruins or black ash.

"Yeah, well that's nothing in comparison to what could've happened if you, Fubuki, Rock, Boomer and the other fire tugs didn't prevent the fire from spreading further inland. Well done to all of ya!" Said the fire chief.

"Oh dear! Looks like I'm too late to save the day! What a pity." Said Churchill as he slowly steamed into the burned out section of the port.

"Well well well, wouldn't you look at that! Churchill, all dressed up and nowhere to go!" Laughed Richard as Roger and Rupert joined in.

The rest of the night, the ships checked upon the dockside to make sure no new fires would erupt, and everyone gave a witness report to the fire chief as to how the fire started. Some of the fleetgirls that got woken up during the commotion had come to help the tugs with cleaning up and checking of the critical sites, as well as bringing in some food and drinks for the firefighters and tugs so that they could keep their strength. But when everything was done, they all noticed that two tugs still hadn't come back yet.

"T-they should've been back by n-now..." Said Rock with a shaky voice, as Edwin took off his hat, the others, even the Red Stacks, following suit, as Fubuki started to cry silently, being hugged by Mutsuki as to give her some emotional support.

"We must all salute two very brave tugs, who saved us all from-" he couldn't continue further, as two steam hooters rang through the air, two hooters that gave the ships hope, as they were **very** familiar.

"Wait a minute! I know those whistles!" Sniffed Rock as the whistles came again.

Through the morning fog, two shadowy figures were slowly pulled towards them, their clothes burned, several burn marks across their body, and almost not able to move, if it wasn't for Rebecca, towing them in.

"It's MAC AND COMET!" Cheered Rock, racing forwards to greet his twin and his 'older brother'. The others were also smiling when they saw the two tugs, although injured, but still very much alive.

"Mac! Comet! What a mess! What the hell happened?!" Smiled Rock, with tears in his eyes.

"Well, shortly after we dropped the damn thing, it blew to smithereens! Almost took us with it! Comet pushed me ahead of him so that he'd get the full brunt!" Started Mac.

"Yeah, fully wrecked my suit! Lights out, water in the engine; nothing more than floating metal. Didn't thought Mac could pull me that far in, luckily Rebecca was on her morning run and picked us up as well!" Laughed Comet.

"Aye, ain't you two the most luckiest tugs around!" Said Rock, now laughing as well.

"And probably the bravest too!" Added Edwin.

"And also the most suicidal as far as I can see!" Mused a further voice, as they saw the admiral, standing on the quay nearby.

"Comet, didn't you just got repaired?" Asked the admiral.

"Well, wasn't really worth it, wasn't it?" Chuckled Comet.

"Ugh, you are getting pretty expensive to keep maintained Comet. And thanks to Typhoons actions, we now lost a large part of our supplies as well! Let's see what we can do for now. Rebecca, bring them to the docks, they **really** need it. As for the rest of you, go and get some rest. The night wasn't kind on you. Go and get some sleep." Ordered the admiral, as the tugs all moved out. Comet was slowly pulled towards the docks when his gaze landed on Fubuki. He saw the fresh tear lines and noticed that she tried to avoid looking into his eyes. He tried to untie himself, but stopped with an painful hiss as his burned hands touched the rope.

"Fubuki! Fubuki!" He called out, but the destroyer seemingly didn't hear him as she and Mutsuki started to walk back to their home.

The railway tug slumped in defeat as he was pulled further and further away from where the gathered ships slowly dissolved into smaller groups, heading for their homes, as he and Mac were pulled into the direction of the docks.

Comet and Mac were settled into neighboring berths in the docks, and were already recovering, with some of their major burns on their hands and faces already cured.

"Man, am I glad we got these docks! Just think how many months of downtime we'd need if we would let those burns heal themselves!" Sighted Mac.

"Yeah..." Sighted Comet as he leaned across the edge of the berth, staring at a random point in the room.

"You alright Comet?" Asked the switcher, concerned about his 'bigger brother'.

"Just... got a lot on my mind, that's all Mac." Sighted the railway tug again, as someone walked into the docks.

Both tugs looked up, to see the head of Fubuki, poking past the curtains separating the changing room and the docking area. When Comet saw the destroyer, his mood turned around completely, a large smile grew on his face, as he tried to get out of his berth, only to sink back into it the docks with a painful hiss as he hit his burned left side at the edge of the berth. Fubuki, hearing the splashing, walked over to Comets berth.

"Ugh, hi Fubuki..." Winced Comet as he looked up to the destroyer. His slight jokingly demeanor changed when he saw the saddened expression on her face.

"Fubuki? Hey, speak to me..." Said the tugboat, concerned as the destroyer still didn't said anything, she just kept looking at him, her saddened expression not once brightening, on the contrary, her eyes started to shimmer again, ready to burst into tears once more.

"Please, don't punish me with silence. Please, please talk to me, little Blizzard."

He had almost no time to react as Fubuki suddenly jumped into his docking berth and hugged him tightly, fresh tears starting to run down her face as sobs filled the silent room. Comet was shocked at the sudden reaction, but wasted no time and hugged her as well, trying to calm her down.

"Idiot..." She whispered.

"Huh?"

"You idiot. You risk taking idiot! You are throwing your life away with such suicidal maneuvers!" She sobbed, hammering onto his chest.

"If it stayed there, it would've blown up and injured more than just Mac and me. I had to move it away from the others and away from you. Remember my promise? I will always make sure you'll return home as safe as you left it. No matter what it takes. I can't imagine anything happening to you. I can't bare it." He whispered.

"But I can't let you risk your life just for me! I couldn't live knowing that you died just because of me!" Replied Fubuki, now looking the tugboat into the eyes, tears starting to run down her cheeks again.

Comet's heart was throbbing, he wanted to help her, sooth her pain, make her feel better, do anything so that the joyful, perky and happy destroyer would stand proud as always in front of him again. But he didn't knew how. Here he was, hugging the one person in the world whom he loved more than anything, who was hurting, and all he could do was stare forward in helplessness.

'There is one thing I could do...' He thought, his cheeks warming up at the mere thought.

'I have to do it! I... I have to tell her! She needs to know so that she understands why I would willingly give up my life for her!' Comet tightened his hug, his lost expression turned into one of determination.

He pushed Fubuki softly backwards, so that he could look her into her eyes again. They were bloodshot and tears were still running down her cheeks.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I sh-should go n-" She was silenced when Comet placed a finger on her lips.

"I know I'm taking large risks. I know that I will hurt myself. And I willingly do so, because I can't risk seeing you injured. My heart couldn't bare seeing you battered and bleeding, I wouldn't be able to stay calm anymore. I made it my duty, from the first day I saw you at this base, that I would do what I can so that you would be okay. And I'll keep to this duty until I'll die. I love my life, my friends, my fleet, my work, I love everything about it. But on top of that... On top of that all..." He shook, even though the water was at a perfect temperature, he shook in sheer fright of what could happen, scared that their friendship, this tight bond he had fought so very hard to create, would be destroyed by the words that were lingering on his lips for so long already.

"O-on top of that...?" Asked Fubuki, sniffing slightly.

That was it. That was the final straw for the tugboat. He couldn't keep it inside him any longer.

"Because on top of that all, **I** **love you Fubuki!"** He said, shouting through the whole docks, shocking both Fubuki and Mac with his loud outburst.

"I love you, more than my life! I can't lose you, I just **can't**! It would be killing me as well! I **have** to protect you in any way I possibly can! I know you are strong, and you can take care of yourself, but still, the feeling of knowing that I wouldn't be there to help you is following me every day." Continued Comet, tears of his own now starting to run down his face, as he was finally releasing all his emotions that he buried inside his heart.

Fubuki was at a loss for words, not knowing how to deal with the situation. Mac was grinning broadly in his berth, happy that his 'big brother' finally told the girl he loved what he felt for her.

"N-now you know why I keep taking risks, why I gladly do these suicidal runs, and why I keep doing them. I love you too much, and even if you don't feel the same way, that would be fine, for I wouldn't change my way, and I would keep fighting to protect you, and the others." Finished Comet, as he went silent.

The silence wasn't broken by anything, Comet's heart was pounding in his chest, the fear of rejection growing with every second that continued to pass. The tug closed his eyes, lowering his head in defeat. Mac looked over from his berth, confused about the silence. Comet felt the movement in the water, and he thought that Fubuki was moving towards the edge of the berth so that she could get out and away from him. But then a hand, a smooth, delicate hand, moved up to his cheek, lifting his face up. He opened his eyes just to see Fubukis own pair, closed as she moved in and kissed the tugboat. Comet's heart was almost bursting out of his chest at one second, before it stopped as the destroyers lips met his. Time seemed nonexistent, both of them didn't knew if they were kissing for seconds or hours. They were reluctant to pull back from each other, as their need for fresh air made itself noticeable. They both pulled away at the same time, both blushing deep red, as they looked into each other's eyes.

"You..should understand why I can't risk losing you as well..." Murmured Fubuki, but was a bit confused when she didn't got a reaction out of the railway tug.

Comet just stood there, his eyes wide as plates, and his mouth slightly agape. Fubuki, now concerned that there might be something wrong with Comet, waved her hand a few times in front of his face, only to get no reaction out of him. The destroyer was thinking of what she could do now, but didn't notice the slightly wobbling of the tug. She only noticed it when he was completely falling over, his eyes rolling back into his head, and a drowsy smile crossed his features.

"She..likes me..." Breathed the tug, the last bit of his adrenaline leaving him, letting him fall asleep with seconds.

"I think you broke the poor chap." Came a smooth voice from behind them, as Fubuki and Mac turned towards the entry of the docks, where Prometheus stood, smiling slightly.

"I-"

"Don't worry my dear, everything will stay between the four of us, isn't that right Mac?" Asked the large tugboat.

"Sure! I won't tell anybody before you or Comet do!" Grinned the smaller tug.

"The admiral signed you and Comet off duty for today, I suggest staying near him; he'll think this was all a dream otherwise." Chuckled Prometheus as he started to walk out.

"Oh, and before I forget: I'd suggest to get out of those clothes and let them dry somewhere. I doubt Comet would mind if you'd share the docks for the time being." Said Prometheus with a sly undertone as he completely left, not noticing the huge blush that grew on the destroyer, while Mac had to fight hard to suppress his laughter.

Comet was slowly gaining consciousness again, groaning as his neck hurt.

"Ugh, uncomfortable if you have to sleep in them these docks are, but damn, if I hadn't had the best dream in the world!" Sighted Comet as he made his neck pop a few times, eyes still closed.

"Hehe, really? What was it about?" Sniggered Mac, his voice low, confusing the railway tug a bit.

"Oh, just about... Something..." Murmured Comet, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"I see, and this 'something' wasn't Fubuki by any chance?" Giggled the switcher next to him, as Comet twitched.

"I-, um-, no! Why should it?" Stuttered Comet, startled that the younger tug found out so quickly.

"Well, it's just that, if it was, then it wouldn't be so much of a dream as you think."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, open your eyes if you really want to know!"

The railway tug ripped his eyes open, looking to his left side, where the switcher tug was, grinning broadly at him, before pointing downwards.

Comet looked quickly down, and stopped in his tracks yet again, as he saw the sleeping form of Fubuki, nuzzling into his chest, smiling ever so slightly at the close proximity to the male steam tug. His brain went into overdrive at the situation, having no explanation as to how this happened. Unless...

'Unless if it wasn't a dream...' Thought Comet, as his memories let the whole situation from earlier replay in his head, right up to the point of the kiss.

Comet started to smile in bliss, as his arms moved around the sleeping destroyer in his arms, pulling her even closer to him, never wanting to let her go again.

"No use hiding it anymore now. I'm glad you know. I feel like a huge weight fell off my heart." Muttered Comet, loud enough for Mac to hear it, but completely directed at Fubuki.

The destroyer stirred slightly, her eyes slowly opening as she noticed the bare chest in front of her. She looked upwards, and into the eyes of the railway tug.

"Morning little Blizzard." He whispered.

"Hmmm, it's almost evening though..." Murmured Fubuki as she moved up to kiss Comet again.

"Oh get a room you two!" Said Mac cheekily.

"As soon as you and Rock grow a pair and tell those purple and white haired destroyers that you are in love with them!" Smirked Comet, as Mac went red in anger.

"Their names are Akatsuki and Hibiki!" Growled Mac, but then noticed what he did.

"Ehh? You like Hibiki?" Asked Fubuki, surprised.

"No!"

"Nope, he's into Akatsuki. Rock likes Hibiki." Smirked Comet.

"Comeeeeeeet!" Whined Mac as he turned away from the two bigger ships, embarrassed and ashamed.

Just then, a bell rang from above Macs berth, shortly followed by Comets. Both looked up to see their timers had gone down to zero.

"Huh? Already?" Asked Mac.

"Looks like the burns weren't that serious. Great! And we only missed-" He looked at the clock and his expression fell "the whole day of work. I'll never pick up the slack if I keep getting docked every ten hours!" Sighted Comet.

"I hope you try to keep out of the docks now?" Asked Fubuki.

"I promised you to look after you. If that means I'll end up in the docks, then that's the price I have to pay." Shrugged Comet, as Fubuki frowned. Then, she had an idea.

"Okay, how about this then?" She whispered the idea into Comets ear.

The railway tug listened intensely, perking up visibly once she finished.

"Okay, that's a good price! Deal! Now come on! I want to get to my bed so that I can at least get some sleep in proper comfort!" Grinned the tug, as he jumped to a stand, creating a few slight waves that threw Fubuki off guard. Therefore, the tug had an easy game to lift the destroyer out of the water.

"C-C-Comet!" Squeaked Fubuki, embarrassed that Mac might see her.

"Mac, if you turn around, your secret will be known to the whole base by tomorrow morning!" Barked the tugboat, as Mac twitched notably, staying with his face towards the wall.

"No stray eyes seeing you, little Blizzard." He winked, as he walked ahead of the destroyer, making sure to not see anything he wasn't supposed to see. Yet.

After getting dressed, and telling Mac that he could come out again, they walked through the early evening, passing several of the fleet girls, who all greeted them with the same call.

"The heroic couple of the port!"

At first, they were visibly startled by the nickname, but once they figured out that they didn't knew anything and just called them that because they were seen together so often, they simply laughed about it whenever someone would call them like that, so that nobody would get suspicious about them. They walked slowly, unconsciously holding each other's hands, just adding to the cheek of the other fleet girls, until they reached the destroyers home. Comet sighted in disappointment, having enjoyed the walk next to her even more so than he usually did whenever he escorted her home.

"Well, I guess I see you tomorrow the-" he was cut off when Fubuki pulled him into a, although short, deep kiss again.

"And don't forget our deal, Shooting Star." Smiled Fubuki, adding the nickname in perfect English as Comet blushed.

"Don't worry, I will, little Blizzard." He said, smiling slightly as he started to walk to his home as well, a skip in his step as if the world was without any trouble at the moment.

He quickly returned to his home, and passed the empty mess hall/breakfast room, heading straight for his room, where Mac and Rock were already sitting, playing a board game.

"Welcome back Comet..." Murmured Rock, currently the one who needed to make a move.

"Busy escorting Fubuki home?" Grinned Mac.

"Yes, just like always. Anyways, I'm turning in. Got to be up early tomorrow after all!" Chuckled they railway tug, as he quickly changed clothes and jumped into his bed.

"Huh? I thought you'd like to stay up with us a bit longer? I mean, you usually play with us for a bit after work?" Asked Rock.

"Usually, I would. But I've got a tight schedule to keep!" Said Comet as he threw himself into his bed.

"Anything to do with that 'deal' between you two?" Asked Mac cheekily.

"Hm, depends."

"On what?"

"How much you care for your secret to remain one." Smirked Comet, his back to the two switchers, both of which had the color in their faces drained pretty quickly.

"Thought so. Good night you two." Said Comet, pulling the curtains from his bunk close, and falling asleep quickly.

The admiral was just finishing the report to the Hokkaido naval district, who were in charge of Typhoon. They were pretty mad at the tugboat for destroying a vital part of the preparations for operation 'Black Flag', and promised to send resources to replace the ones destroyed on the 'Kraka-Toa' up to them, to be loaded onto the 'Duchess', which had been brought in by Typhoon and Prometheus just a day earlier, to take over the place the 'Kraka-Toa' had in the operation. Just before he was able to get up to head home for the night, the phone perked up.

"Good evening sir!" Came a bright voice.

"Good evening Yuubari. Still up?"

"Yeah! That locomotive driver from the Steam Tugs fleet brought that steam locomotive in earlier. We have already started fitting her with the 'upgrades' he and you suggested. If everything goes smoothly, we can test her by tomorrow morning!" She said, the energy from within her voice noticeable.

"Very well, but **please** don't try to pull an all nighter. You need sleep as well you know." Said the admiral.

"I'll try my best sir!" Said Yuubari as she hung up.

"Hmm, let's hope we are lucky and she'll work..." Muttered the admiral as he headed home as well.

As he walked out of the main building, he looked upwards at the building, before frowning.

"It's a stormy season right now. And the next one is building up fast..." Muttered the man, as he headed home.

As he walked away, the old, brass bell on the building continued to wave in the nonexistent wind, but no sound came from it, no matter how often it turned.


	9. Chapter 9

**And here we go again, new chapter folks! Now, this is where we leave the path of usual stuff and where I imply a bit 'unusual' weaponary in the arsenal of this story and in turn, this naval base. But I don't want to spoil too much, I'd rather leave the finding out to you lot ^^ Have fun reading!**

The next morning, the tugboats of captain Walters were back to work with their usual duties. However, they were confused when a certain railway tug didn't turned up for breakfast.

"Ugh, Comet could at least have the dignity to come down to breakfast! That tug hasn't been with us for more than two days now, either blowing himself to pieces or working himself to the ground!" Complained Churchill, drinking his morning tea.

"Ach, give the kid a break, will ya? I doubt the last few days had been kind to the little buggers sleeping rhythm. He'll be up an' about sooner or later." Retorted Bull from the kitchen, as he walked inside with some sandwiches for the others.

"I think I'll better look and see what's keeping him so long." Said Mac as he walked back to their room.

"Comet! Wake up! You'll be late for your car ferry duties if you keep sleeping!" Shouted Mac as he burst into the room, hoping to scare the older tug awake.

His hopes were crushed however, when he heard no reaction from the middle bunk of their bed. He walked up to it and pulled the curtains apart, shocked to see that the tug wasn't there anymore. He rushed back to the dining room, where the others greeted him with confused looks.

"What's wrong Mac?" Asked Edwin.

"It's Comet! He's gone!" That caught the others attention very quickly.

"What do you mean with 'gone'?!" Asked Churchill.

"That he isn't in his bed!"

"Now now, calm down and stop the shouting. He probably went out for an early training. Why not try to call him via radio?" Suggested Prometheus.

"Good idea Prometheus!" Said Edwin as he walked to the radio room of the house, and got behind the large apparatus.

"Comet? Comet do you copy?"

"Yeah Edwin, I read you. Something wrong?" Came the voice of the railway tug.

"We were wondering where you are! You are missing breakfast right now!"

"Oh! Sorry Edwin, I am already doing car ferry duties; gotta keep busy and get back into my usual schedule after all!" Responded the younger tug, the enthusiasm hard to overhear in his voice.

"Alright then, but don't forget to eat something during the day! And don't forget to refuel around lunchtime!"

"Yes _mother_." Came the cheeky reply as the transmission was cut off, and Edwin returned to the others.

"Everything is alright! He started his duties early." Said Edwin as the others just chuckled.

"Is it **that** funny that he works himself to the ground?" Asked Rebecca.

"Well, it is indeed amusing to see how much dedication he puts into such a dull job as car ferry duties." Mused Churchill, not noticing the death glare that was directed at him from the tug girl.

Before the situation could turn ugly though, captain Walters walked into the room.

"I'd enjoy it if some of you would pick up on that dedication he shows! Now, Allan Brady's locomotive has been sent to the factories for some minor repairs, so I need Mac and Rock to play switcher for the railway trucks at the loading bays! All you have to do is to pull the trucks onto the barges, the unloading can be done by the locomotives that are pulling them later! Prometheus, rest for the day, you've got the night shift tonight! Churchill, you'll be towing in any incoming vessels from further out at sea! Keep within radio connection distance though, just in case any of the Abyssal show up! Boomer, Bull, the steelworks need two tugs to get their steel to the factories, finish the order quickly and then get back to your usual duties! Rebecca, better get going before Comet finishes all car ferry runs for today!" Ordered the captain with an light chuckle as the tugs all replied in agreement, heading off towards the launching station.

When Rebecca got to the loading bay however, she was surprised what she found there: the tracks where the trucks usually were waiting to be loaded were empty, and several strings of trucks were waiting on the outgoing tracks, waiting for someone to collect and bring them to their destination.

"Wow, Comet **has** been a busy bee today!" Chuckled the female tugboat, as the sound of a steam engine rang out from further along the dockside, as Comet came around the corner, a rope tied up to the railway trucks, pulling them up to his barge and getting them tied up by the fairies.

"Hey Comet! Leave some for me will you?!" Shouted Rebecca with a smile, but Comet ignored her and tied himself to the barges, quickly setting off towards the other side of the bay.

"...Okay, that was weird. I know he can get occupied by his work, but he never just ignores somebody!" Muttered the tug as she followed her colleague towards the drop-off yards.

When she reached it however, she only saw the two barges left at the loading dock, but no sign of the other steam tug.

"Hey! Can you tell me where Comet went to?" She called to one of the dock workers who helped to unload the barges.

"Went towards the port entry! You know, that little island up there! Said something about picking up logs from there!" Replied the worker before he returned to his duties.

'Huh? Did captain Walters give him extra duties over the radio?' Thought the female tugboat as she turned and headed into the direction of the island.

She quickly got closer to the island, but before she could reach the docks, she was intercepted by Comet, who was returning back towards the loading bay without any barges in tow however.

"Oh! Hello Rebecca. What brings you here?" Asked Comet, a slight blush on his face.

"I was looking for you! You didn't answer my greeting this morning and where are those logs you were supposed to pick up?" Asked Rebecca.

"What are you talking abo-? OH! Yes! The logs! Uhhhhh, they.. haven't finished loading the barges yet! So I wanted to.. go back to pick up the car ferries with the empty trucks!" Said Comet, but stopping several times along the way, as if he was making it all up.

"Uhu, and you want me to believe that?" Asked Rebecca with an unconvinced look in her face.

"If you believe me or not is up to you, it's the truth all the same." Responded Comet as he passed her and quickly steamed back towards the port, Rebecca following him with her eyes.

She turned to leave, when she spotted a certain destroyer, silently making her way across the bay into the direction of the training course.

"What does she have to do with it?" Frowned the female tug as she went back to her duties.

"I tell you Comet is hiding something!" Said Rebecca.

She, Bull, Boomer, Churchill, Mac and Rock had gathered at the briefing table on the female tugs request.

"What should **he** be hiding?" Scoffed Churchill.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it must be pretty embarrassing for him to want to hide it so much. And I have the feeling that Fubuki knows about what it is."

"Ah, I doubt he's hiding anythin'. He always told us about everythin', why should he start keeping secrets now? And what should Fubuki have ta do with it?" Asked Bull.

"I don't know, but I'm sure as soot going to find out! He knows he can trust us, and doesn't needs to hide anything." Grumbled Rebecca, as she walked off to get back to her ferry duties, or those that Comet had left her.

'Especially when he even tells that destroyer what it is about...'

Even though Comet was acting strange about his off-work occupations, his work ethics were as high as ever, if not higher. He almost managed to run all the work on his own, without having any major difficulties. Both the admiral and captain Walters were surprised at this increase in efficiency, but welcomed it, even though they would like to know the reason for the tugboat to suddenly manage the work of two without any issues. Meanwhile, Comet was bringing some barges to the factories, delivering some steel for them to work with. When he reached them however, he thought he was seeing things. There, on a stretch of railway tracks that ended in the water, was locomotive #23, a full head of steam in her boiler, but she looked different from yesterday. Her wheels seemed to have gotten broader, and in between the frames, large tanks had been welded to the engine. To the tugboats surprise, the admiral was watching the factory workers and Yuubari making final checks on the engine.

"Sir? What are you doing here?" Asked Comet as the admiral turned to the tugboat.

"Ah! Comet! Perfect timing! I think you will like what will happen now!" Smiled the man, as Yuubari walked up to them.

"The loco is ready sir! Time for the test!" Smiled the technical inclined Fleetgirl.

"Good. Allan! If you would please!" Called the admiral as Mr. Brady nodded, and slowly made the locomotive head towards the water.

"Uh, sir?"

"Keep watching Comet!" Mused the admiral as the steam locomotive reached the water.

Comet cringed when he saw the locomotive leave the tracks and entered the water. But his expression turned into one of utter disbelief when he saw that the heavy goods locomotive didn't sink. The wheels dug into the water, but only for a few centimeters before it started to **float** on the water! Comet kept watching, his jaw slack and trying to reach the ground as the steam locomotive moved on the water, before stopping, floating in the factories goods loading bay.

"S-sir? H-how- , Why-?"

"Physics Comet, physics. We installed several air tanks underneath the engine. They are filled with high pressured air, keeping her floating. The wheels have been broadened and rebuilt to work as paddle wheels. Her front bogies have been connected with a steering mechanism in the cab, similar to those used in normal ship." Explained the admiral, before Comet floated towards the swimming locomotive, inspecting the wheels, plenty of broad slits cut into them, just like the paddle wheels on paddle steamers like Edwin.

"But why? Why would we need to rebuilt a locomotive this way?" Asked Comet, still not fully grasping the concept of swimming steam locomotives.

"Just think about it: with these locomotives, we could deploy more than just the fleet girls to fight against the Abyssal! There would be a whole new meaning to 'hit-and-run' tactics! A fully armed train could leave the rails, fight against the Abyssal on the water and then return to the rails and retreat out of the Abyssals effective range!" Explained the admiral.

"That might be, but the fact still stands that this is all just a theory! The locomotive has no protection! The boiler, firebox, motion parts and the cab are all exposed! One hit would be enough to destroy each of these points! And on top of that, what would happen to those that fight onboard of the train if the engine has been took out? They'd be stuck, left to the nonexistent mercy of the Abyssal! And who'd even be so suicidal to agree to fight on such a train?!" Asked Comet.

"The engine like she is now won't enter combat Comet. This is a mere test to see if a locomotive actually **can** float on the water. We are going to fit her with armor skirts around the wheels, boiler and cab. She'd be deployed alongside other fleet girls, so that in case of an engine failure, the girls could still help with bringing the rest of the train in. And I know of quite a few people who'd want to fight against the Abyssal as well, even while knowing that the risk of death is high. After all, there are still plenty of willing sailors who'd like to repay the Abyssal for all the losses they had to suffer." Countered the admiral as Comet sighted, rubbing his eyes.

"You would be surprised Comet, but at the beginning of this war, the navy was reluctant to deploy the fleet girls." Continued the man, as Comet twitched slightly.

"Really?"

"Yes. They believed that the fleet girls wouldn't be able to do anything against the Abyssal, they had no fighting experience and were prone to act on impulse, not listening to orders and generally be more of a nuisance than an aid to the fight. But even though most navies refused to use the girls in battle, some, like Germany and Japan, continued to deploy them, and over the time, their battle results improved, and we began to have victories against the Abyssal. The navy continued to invest in the fleet girls, and other nations restarted their interest in them." Explained the admiral, Comet listening intensively.

"What is your point sir?" Asked the tugboat.

"My point is, that even though it is an unusual and untested weapon, sometimes, the results are well worth the risks." Smiled the man, as Comet turned back to the swimming locomotive.

"... Mr. Brady will need plenty of training to maneuver that girl on the open waters, much more so when he has something coupled onto her. When are we going to start?" Asked Comet, as the admiral smiled broadly.

"Right away. A helmsman from one of the naval trampers is showing him how to steer her right now, once that's over, I'll need you to help him train." Explained the admiral.

"Once I'm finshed with the afternoon car ferry runs, I'll be over and help him!" Saluted Comet, and wanted to go back to get his barges, but the admiral held him back.

"Actually, how about you head off to the training grounds now? From what the wharf managers told me, you've been taking care of the services since sunrise. While I enjoy that you've returned to your usual schedule, you shouldn't take all the work onto yourself. After all, Rebecca is here to help you out, not just to occupy the guest quarters at the Steam Tugs house!" Said the admiral with a chuckle at the end.

"Uhh, very well sir..." Replied Comet with a hint of discomfort in his voice, but before the admiral could ask, Comet was already steaming to the locomotive.

"Hmm, I am getting concerned about this. He seems to be even more focused on getting his work done than he was before, and he sounded as if he was afraid to continue his training! I should ask John if something happened since yesterday morning..." Murmured the admiral as he started to make his way back to his office.

Comet and Mr. Brady spent most of the afternoon on the training course, where Comet observed every movement that the locomotive made, and made suggestions as to how he could increase the maneuverability of the engine. At the end of the day, they returned to the factories where the workers quickly went to check upon the locomotive, taking great care around the wheels and the firebox area, checking for cracks or seized up motion parts.

"Still can't believe they rebuilt #23 into a locomotive/ship hybrid..." Murmured Comet.

"Trust me kid, I was startled myself when the admiral started with this stuff. But alas, he's the boss, and he says what goes and what not. I'm mainly surprised that it went so well! My greatest concern was that she'd sink the second she'd move further into the water! Didn't thought those few air tanks could keep a whole 80 ton freight engine afloat!" Said Brady.

"Aren't you concerned about what would happen if the tanks have a leak?" Asked the tugboat.

"Nah, they installed three new air pumps onto her while she was in there. One to replace the old air brake pump, one that can be switched on to help the first to fill up the tanks, and one as backup. Only a real hole could become a problem, but once a hole goes all the way down to the tanks, I doubt I'll be around to have that as my main concern..." Explained the elderly engineer, as he checked his pocket watch.

"Welp, I better get the old girl into her shed. The admiral said that they should be able to have at least one of the railway guns ready for service with the engine with the next three or four days. Until then, I'll keep training to drive her on the water. Huh, never thought I'd drive a locomotive off the rails on purpose when I signed up for the job..." Muttered Brady as he stood up from the bench on which he sat on.

"Alright, see you tomorrow then!" Comet said, as he turned to move back to his usual duties.

Only then did he realize that the sun was already setting. He quickly scrambled to pull out his own pocket watch, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw what time it already was. He raced off back towards the launching station, his stack barking out black smoke and large clouds of steam.

'Drat! Time really slipped by me today! Got to hurry, got to hurry!' He thought, as he rushed past one of the canal entries, only to brake hard and turn around quickly, entering the canals.

'I know captain Walters ordered us to not use the shortcuts anymore, but this is an emergency! For me at least...' Thought the tug as he cruised through the canals.

He was nearly out of the canal system, when he saw Richard, slowly moving out of a warehouse, right into his path. He braked hard, creating a small but still impressive wave that crashed into the Red Stack, drenching him completely with the cold water.

"Argh! What the-?! Oh. Just a stinking steamer. What the hell are you doing in here? The canals are of limits, you should know that!" Sneered the large tug.

"What do you do in here then?" Growled Comet back, impatient to continue on his path.

"None of your business! Now bugger off! I've got places to be!" Growled Richard back.

"You're lucky that I'm in a hurry oilcan, or I'd give ya a piece of my mind." Huffed Comet and started to race off again, Richard staring after the steam tug before heading into the opposite direction.

"As long as the shrimp stays the hell away from that warehouse, everything'll be alright..." Murmured the diesel tug to himself.

Comet reached the launching station, and dumped his suit at its usual place, before trying to get to wherever he needed to go. However, his plan was foiled when Rebecca and Rock pulled him off his course.

"Hey Comet! Respect, thought you'd need some more time before you'd be back in your usual pattern!" Smiled Rebecca.

"Hey Comet, how come that Mr. Brady's engine suddenly can swim?" Asked the switcher.

"Yeah, wasn't too hard, after all, I do this job for years now, a few days away from work ain't that much to get me out of my training. They are trying to add some new firepower against the Abyssal with Mr. Brady's locomotive, I don't know if it will work or not, but the admiral seems optimistic about it." Explained Comet quickly before trying to get out of his fellow tugboats grip, only to fail miserably.

"Uh, guys? I kinda need to go now. Could you let me go?"

"Where to?" Asked Rebecca.

"Oh, just somewhere. But I **really** need to go now." Said the male railway tug, putting pressure on the word 'really'.

"If it's so important, you could tell us where you need to go!" Retorted the female tug.

"I don't have to if I don't want to. Now let me go!" Grumbled Comet, giving another strong tug, breaking free of his friends grip.

"Comet! Stop!" Called Rock, but the railway tug was already racing off, heading towards the direction of the fleet girls homes.

"Quickly! After him!" Called Rebecca as they followed him, trying to catch up to the fleeing tug, but no matter how close they got, Comet would always find an alley, path or side street in which he could run into before they could catch them. They were nearly out of breath when they reached the large buildings, and to the shock of Rock and Rebecca, could still catch a glimpse of how Comet raced inside one of the houses.

"Is he mad?! There are strict rules that forbid us to enter those houses!" Exclaimed Rock as Rebecca frowned.

"Do these rules count female tugboats in as well?" Asked the female railway tug.

"I don't think so. I doubt they even knew that female tugs existed when they created those rules..." Pondered the switcher.

"Okay, then I'll go in there and pull him out before he gets spotted and pulled into even bigger trouble!" Said the fellow steam tug.

"But where should you start in there? That house is **huge**!" Asked Rock, as Rebecca looked at the building again, more specifically, at the sign on which the word 'Destroyers' was printed on in Kanji letters.

"I think I know where to find him..." Muttered the female tug as she walked to the building.

Once inside, she walked through the long corridors until she finally found the room she was searching for. She knocked on the door, and kept perfectly still, trying to listen to what happened behind the door. She could faintly hear the sound of hasty movements, coupled with the sounds of something or some **one** bumping into something, before everything went silent again. Then, the door was opened by a familiar destroyer with green eyes and short, dark brown hair, kept in a short ponytail at the back, with two brown locks framing her face on either side.

"Oh! Good evening Rebecca. What are you doing here?" Asked Fubuki.

"I'm searching for Comet. He didn't want to tell us where he wanted to go, and fled into this building." Explained Rebecca, her eyes scanning the room as far as she could, trying to spot Comet in it.

"But it's against the rules that tugboats get in here! Why would he do that...?" Murmured the destroyer.

"That's what I would like to know as well." Frowned Rebecca, as Fubuki looked at her perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that Comet made us follow him throughout almost half of the complete harbor, just to get into this building which just so happens to be the destroyers home, aka yours. So, where is he?" Asked Rebecca, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the destroyer.

"I have no idea where he could be! I was alone all evening while Mutsuki and Yuudachi are visiting the Sendai sisters!" Retorted Fubuki, standing her ground as she stared back at the tugboat.

"And why didn't you go with them then?" Fired the female railway tug back.

"B-because... Because I had to..." Stuttered Fubuki, trying to find an answer, as Rebecca's stare increased in intensity.

"Well? Spill it!"

"I invited her to have tea time with me! That's why!" Came a cheerful voice, as they turned to the right, seeing Kongou, smiling at them.

"K-Kongou...?"

"Oh really?" Asked Rebecca, not at all convinced by the answer.

"Yeah! If you want, you can join us the next time!" Smiled the battleship broadly, as Rebecca took a slight step back, her eyes widening.

"I-I, well, um, anyways, I need to find Comet. Maybe he already went outside again, this building is quite large. U-um, goodbye for now." Rebecca stuttered. For the few days she had been around the harbor now, she knew for a fact that she wouldn't enjoy too much time together with the 'energetic' battleship.

Fubuki followed Rebecca with her eyes until she disappeared around a corner, before breathing a sight of relief.

"Thank you Kongou." Said the destroyer, before she was pulled into a strong hug by the battleship.

"No problem Bucky! When I saw her sneaking inside here on my way to get to the admiral, I had a feeling she'd want to cause trouble for you and Comet!" Laughed the British built ship, as Fubukis eyes widened.

"H-how did you-?"

"Hehehe, you can't fool me when it comes to true love! After all, my burning love for the admiral makes me an expert on these things!" Grinned Kongou as Comet walked up to the door from within the room.

"So, you're going to tell the admiral about us now?" Asked Comet, pulling Fubuki closer to himself, to which the destroyer happily complied.

"Why would I do that? I'd only hurt my little Bucky here that way! And also, I know that it wouldn't help to keep you two apart anyways." Said the battleship as Comet just rolled his eyes, while Fubuki blushed a little.

"Anyways, I need to see my admiral, you two have fun, but don't be too loud, these walls are thin!" Chuckled Kongou as both the railway tug and the destroyer blushed deep red, but couldn't retort as the battleship was already out of earshot.

They quickly went back inside the room again, and waited this time in case somebody might've come back to listen if Fubuki really **was** alone in the room. Once he was sure they wouldn't be disturbed again, Comet quickly sneaked up behind the destroyer, before turning her around and surprising her with a deep kiss.

"You sneaky little-" Started Fubuki, but couldn't speak further as the tugboat kissed her again, just as deeply as before.

"Correction! **Your** sneaky little." Winked Comet as Fubuki rolled her eyes, but with a pleased smile, as she moved in to kiss him this time.

This game kept on going for quite a while, until both of them were lying on the mattress, both blushing and panting hard throughout their make out session. But just before they could get any further, a ringing from the nearby table brought them back to reality, or at least Fubuki, as Comet simply grabbed the alarm clock and shut it off.

"You need to go, Mutsuki and Yuudachi will be back soon." Murmured the destroyer in between several kisses.

"I don't care." Purred the railway tug, his voice low as his emotions were guiding him.

"You will if the admiral restricts us from seeing each other once he knows what we're doing here." Retorted Fubuki, bringing some space in between them, as Comet sighted.

"Tomorrow evening, we'll search for a more 'discreet' place. Tonight was one close call I'd like to avoid in the future..." Sighted the railway tug, buttoning up the shirt that somehow got opened throughout the course of the evening.

"Alright, and where?" Asked the destroyer.

"Hmm... Aha! I know a place where absolutely nobody will look for us!" Smirked the tugboat as he got up and whispered something into Fubukis ear.

"And you are sure that nobody will be there?" She asked.

"Not by the time we turn up there! Trust me." He smiled and kissed her again.

Before it could turn into another make out session again, Fubuki pushed him away, to which he gave her a disappointed look.

"Don't give me that look. Do your best tomorrow and this will await you again." Winked Fubuki as Comet gave a hungry growl.

"Don't tempt a starving wolf. Good night, my little Blizzard." Said Comet, sneakily giving her another quick kiss, before quickly slipping out of the room and the building, making his way back to his home.

When he reached it, everything was dark. He checked his watch, cringing at the time and sighted.

"Good thing captain Walters ain't here, he'd give me an earful..." Muttered the tug as the lights suddenly went on, and several hands grabbed him, restraining his movements.

"And what do you call this Comet?" Asked a posh voice.

"A bloody unwelcome greeting Churchill. Duno what you'd call it." Retorted the railway tug sarcastically.

"Where were you that you'd return home so late?" Asked a calmer, concerned voice.

"Sorry Edwin, was busy with something and forgot the time." Sighted Comet.

"What would be so important that ya wouldn't tell anybody what it is and that ya make Rock and Rebecca chase ya around the port?" Asked a gruff, raspy voice.

"Sorry Bull, but I don't want to tell it, and thus I won't say it." Said Comet, as his eyes finally got used to the bright lights, and he could finally see the rest of the Steam Tugs fleet.

Bull and Boomer were restraining him, with Boomer having a concerned, and Bull an judging frown on their faces. Churchill stood in front of him, his arms crossed in front of his chest, standing tall to make sure he would look intimidating. Rebecca stood next to him with Rock, both having a mixture of concern and disapproval on their faces. The furthest two away from the whole ordeal were Mac and Prometheus. Mac was nervously looking towards each of his friends, but most of the time landing back on the railway tug. Prometheus just stood near one of the walls, watching the scene unfold with a disapproving look.

"What could be that big of a secret that you can't even tell us what it's about? And why did you have to go into the destroyers home for it?" Asked Rock.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I really can't tell you. Maybe someday I can, but not right now. It's just too much of a risk which I can't burden onto you." Explained Comet.

"We could help you if it's that risky. You know that you can trust us. We're a family after all." Said Boomer.

"I know Boomer, but the risk of even more people knowing of this is getting higher and higher with every further person who knows about it. And if anybody of the top brass gets to know this, I'll be scrap metal, and Fubuki as we-!" He stopped speaking very quickly when he noticed what he did.

"Fubuki? What does she have to do with this?" Asked Edwin, concern written all over the face.

Comets eyes were widened, the shock that he spilled such important details still lingering on him as he tried to think of an answer to get himself out of this situation.

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't." He finally muttered, his head hanging low.

"Does that mean that you **were** at Fubukis place earlier on?" Asked Rock.

"...yes..."

Rebecca couldn't help herself but feel angry at this. Not only did he hide something that was clearly bothering him, but it seemed that he was trusting Fubuki more about this than his own family. Prometheus sensed the anger in her aura, and decided to end this all.

"I suggest we finish this for tonight, we all had a long day and I still have a long night ahead of me. We can continue this all in the morning." The ocean going tug gently said, stepping up to the others.

They looked at him for a few seconds, before Boomer and Bull released Comet out of their grip. Comet walked a few feet away from them, just in case that they'd want to restrain him again. Comet turned to Prometheus and nodded in thanks, before turning to the corridor leading towards their rooms.

"Mac, Rock, I trust you to keep the door locked for the night. We can't let him slip out before morning briefing. We need to discuss this together with him and captain Walters." Ordered Churchill, with Rock nodding in agreement.

"You can count on us!" Pipped the switcher.

"Mac?" Asked Churchill, waiting for an answer from the other twin.

"Uhh, y-yeah, n-no problem Churchill!" Replied Mac with an nervous grin.

Churchill watched in suspicion as the two switchers walked to theirs and Comets room, but shrugged it off as another one of the smaller tugboats antics. Another tug was suspicious about the behavior as well, but wasn't so quick to let them off the hook. Once everybody had returned to their designated rooms, Rebecca sneaked through the empty corridors, and placed a chair to the opposite side of the door to Comets room and sat on it.

'If he thinks he can escape now, he'll be in for a surprise.' Thought the female tugboat as she waited for the door to open again.

"Morning Rebecca." Yawned a voice, as Rebecca jumped in her chair, waking up within seconds.

She looked around, and saw how Rock slowly walked down the corridor towards the bath. She checked her watch, and was relieved when she saw that it was only half past 5. Comet wasn't due to pick up any barges until an hour later, so he should still be asleep. More time passed, and slowly, the others woke up as well, all except for Comet. Rebecca got concerned about this, seeing that the railway tug only had less than half an hour until he would need to get to his first pickup. She gently knocked on the door and walked inside, seeing that the curtains were closed to his bunk. She gently pushed it aside, but nearly fell back in shock when she saw the bed, neatly made and completely empty.

"Grrrr, COMET!" She growled, as she headed for the breakfast table, where captain Walters was currently holding the morning briefing.

"Ah Rebecca! I heard you slept in front of Comets, Mac and Rocks room last night! Care to explain why?" Asked the man.

"I wanted to make sure that Comet wouldn't sneak out before breakfast again, but apparently, he got away after all." Huffed the female tugboat.

"He did what?! Mac, Rock, I gave you strict orders to lock the door to your room during the night!" Scolded Churchill.

"We did! But he must've had a second key to get out of there!" Exclaimed Rock, while Mac nodded in agreement.

"Well, Comet already called in over radio to get his duties, so I don't see any problem with him being out already! Although he should really stay at least until breakfast. If he keeps this up, I might have to give him some forced down time from his duties so that he doesn't overwork himself. Again..." Said the captain as he grabbed his hat.

"Anyways, I have to meet the admiral. Apparently, he wants to discuss something with me that can't be put on halt. Until I'm back, all problems will be reported to Edwin." He continued before he headed outside, before any of the tugs could tell him about the problem with Comet.

"We've got to tell him as soon as we can! The sooner this situation is over the better it will be for all of us." Stated Edwin.

"Too right. We can't afford to lose our trust into each other just because of some silly secrets." Agreed Churchill, as they headed out for their duties once more.

Comet had already finished his morning runs and was now back with Mr. Brady on the training course. He was moving in front of the locomotive, while the engine driver behind him followed his lead. At first they had been going at a relative easy pace, but gradually gained speed, and now were cruising through the course, creating small waves whenever they'd hit a curve. After a final round, they slowed down, and stopped next to the quayside.

"Good run there! You're getting the hang of things pretty quickly!" Shouted Comet.

"After you get a feeling for the steering wheel, it got pretty easy!" Replied the railway man.

"Is that so? How about a race then? One round across the bay, first one back wins!" Suggested the railway tug.

"Alright! Might as well see how much I can get out of her on the water!" Smirked Brady as they both positioned themselves at the corner of the training course.

"Alright then! Get ready!" Called Comet.

"Set!" Called Brady.

"And go!" Said Comet, whistling loudly as they started their race.

Comet quickly took the lead, since the locomotive was sluggish to start, but after a while, the heavy goods locomotive caught up with the tugboat, slowly drawing level with him, and gradually pulling past him.

'Damn, she's fast! At least some 30 knots!' Thought the tug as the locomotive kept speeding up, her tender passing him and leaving him in a cloud of steam, smoke and soot.

They raced along the main harbor quay, passing several fleet girls which stared in bewilderment at the sight of a steam locomotive running on the water. Comet pressed more of his steam into his pistons, his face glowing as red as his firebox as he drew level with the cowcatcher in front of the locomotive again. They were on the final stretch before the training grounds when Comet saw Akatsuki, moving in front of her sisters with a few barges to pick up some resources from one of the forward islands. His eyes grew wide when he saw that they were moving right into their path, and at the speed they were going now, they wouldn't clear it fast enough. Comet whistled three times loudly, a whistle code the Steam Tugs took over from the railway: the emergency halt code. A further, drawn out whistle from the locomotive next to him gave him reassurance that Mr. Brady had heard him and with an squealing, the breaks went on, but only for a few seconds, before the wheels suddenly began to spin again.

"She's too fast! The water is getting between the wheels and the brake blocks! She won't get a grip!" Shouted Mr. Brady.

"Keep trying! Put her into reverse! I'll try to stop the girls!" Shouted Comet as he pushed every last ounce of steam through his pipes into his cylinders, his boiler straining and his pistons groaning, his firebox turning white hot as he overtook the locomotive and started to make some distance between himself and the runaway railway engine. He whistled with whatever steam he had left to the smaller destroyers as he braked hard, stopping right in the path of the destroyers.

"STOP!" He shouted, spreading his arms.

Before the younger destroyer could even ask what had happened, the steam locomotive raced past them. They stared in shock at what had happened, but only then noticed that Comet had disappeared. They looked around and saw him on the water, lying with his back on it as the liquid underneath him started to turn red.

"Oh no!" Shouted Akatsuki as they quickly hurried to the railway tug and tried to lift him up, resulting in a pained cry from the tug.

They were startled by the outcry, but when they saw his backside, they understood why he screamed like that. When the locomotive passed by, Comet stood a bit too close in its path, and the locomotive rammed into him. His head was bleeding heavily, and there were several heavy bruises along his left side. The biggest injury however, was a deep, large cut, that resulted from where a bolt from the motion parts stood out. Comet was panting hard, partly from the rush to get there in time, partly from the pain of his injuries.

"C-Comet, are you alright?" Asked Inazuma, her hands in front of her mouth in shock, as tears started to shimmer in her eyes.

"I-I-ARGH! I think this will hurt tomorrow. Even more than now..." Panted the tugboat.

"You need to get to the docks, dawai. You are loosing a lot of blood." Said Hibiki.

"No! I-I just need some bandages and maybe some human pain killers. Might as well work on us as well. I'll manage." Groaned the railway tug, as the sound of slow chugging filled the air, and #23 backed down next to them.

"Oh my stars Comet! I knew I had hit something when I passed by! Come boy, let's get you to the docks and patched up." Said Brady, but the injured tug just shook his head.

"N-no! I-I don't need to! I need bandages, that's all."

"Kid, you've got a pretty deep cut in your side, another mayor wound at your head and bruises all across your left side! You **need** to get to the docks! Those wounds won't heal without some proper aid! Some mere bandages won't help here!" Countered Mr. Brady.

" **I** **just** **can't** **go** **back** **to** **the** **docks**!" Comet thundered, shocking the destroyers and Mr. Brady with his outburst.

Comet, noticing what he did, lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry. I...I'll go and find myself some bandages..." Sighted the boy as he started to head off, the sixth destroyer division trying to stop him but the tug just kept on moving.

Mr. Brady sighted, following the tug with his eyes, before getting the locomotive back into motion again.

'The admiral has to know, the kid is killing himself if he doesn't gets himself into those docks soon!' Thought the engine driver as he drove the locomotive back to the factories for some further stationary tests and to contact the admiral.

Comet reached the launching station and grabbed the first aid kit he knew was stored in the supply room. He quickly grabbed some of the bandages and tied them around his head and the cut on his left side, before heading out again. He felt a bit better now that the bleeding had stopped, but the pain was still clinging to his body, making every movement a painful experience for the railway tug.

"Ugh, just don't think about it Comet. Just get your work done for the day, and then head for the locomotive sheds..." He hissed to himself, as his radio perked up.

"Comet! Report back home immediately! We heard what had happened, you need to go to the do-" Edwin couldn't talk further as Comet shut is radio off.

"Looks like I lost my connection." Chuckled Comet dryly, as he finally reached the transfer wharf again. He slowly tied his barges up, making sure to leave some room on his left side, before slowly trundling off to his next destination.

Meanwhile, the admiral and captain Walters were discussing Comets current situation in the admirals office.

"He seems to be overly motivated in his tasks, a good thing for every other tug, but he seems to be fueled by something to get more done than ever before. Also, he seemed uncomfortable when I asked him to help Allan in training with his locomotive, as if he was afraid of it." Explained the admiral.

"So I have noticed. He skipped breakfast the last two days, and didn't came back for dinner last night. If this keeps up it will destroy him internally and later on externally as well. I was wondering if I could give him some time to work up river, the work there hasn't picked up all that much, just some minor logging contracts. It would do him good to calm down, and I could keep Rock down here to take charge of his car ferry duties. It would be a little 'holiday' for him, the railway is close by so he'd always have some of the drivers there to chat with." Stated the captain.

"Good, I will see how many days I can take him off the roster for any sorties. He can't get here in time for any briefing or sorties when he is all the way up the river!" Said the superior as he got a few plans out of a folder and started to cross out Comets name. But while he did so, a small smile grew on his face.

"What do you think? Should I take Fubuki from the roster as well?" Mused the admiral.

"I'm not sure if he'd be joyous or fuming if we did that." Chuckled the captain of the Steam Tugs, but they both stopped when a knocking came from the door.

"Yes! Come in!" Said the admiral, as Akatsuki walked inside.

"Sir, it's about Comet." Both men sighted at this, knowing the answer to the following question wouldn't be a good one.

"What happened?"

Comet was tiredly making his way back to the launching station. His side and head were burning with pain, and he was feeling slightly dizzy. He moved slower than usual, and his reaction time was slower, resulting in his barges bumping into him several times over the day. He finally reached the launching station and put his suit back into its place, before heading down the sidewalk towards the locomotive sheds. He was almost out of the main part of the harbor when a call came from behind him.

"Comet! Stop! You have to come with us!" Shouted a young voice.

The tugboat in question turned around and saw Mac, Rock and Rebecca, running towards him, with the female railway tug carrying a square, strange looking box with her on her back.

"Oh cinders..." Groaned Comet as he started to run away, but it was barely half his usual pace, and so they quickly got closer.

Comet thought of a way to escape them, when the ringing of a church bell came from within the town. He quickly pulled out his pocket watch and smiled when he saw the time.

'I hope it's on time tonight...' He thought as he turned right at a crossroad and down a narrow alley, barely broad enough for a car to get through.

Comet strained himself as he pushed himself to his limits, his body aching and begging him to finally stop, his friends doing the same, shouting towards him to stop. He then noticed a half covered sign next to him, and a smile grew on his face. He sprinted for a few further meters, but stopped when he saw Churchill, Prometheus, Edwin, Bull and Boomer, all standing at the other end of the road, waiting for him, with Edwin carrying the same square thing as Rebecca did with him.

"Enough Comet! There is nowhere to run anymore! Please come with us, you **need** to get to the docks!" Shouted Rebecca from behind him, as he turned around, the smile still on his face, though his eyes betrayed the pain he was in right now.

"That's true. I have nowhere to run." He said, as the other sighted in relief.

"Luckily for me, I don't need to run anymore." He continued, as from in between the rows of buildings, a locomotive suddenly rolled onto the streets, pulling a long train of coal trucks behind her and disappearing in between the houses on the other side, cutting off the larger tugs from the two switches and the railway tugs.

Comet grinned, as he turned around and with skilled movement, jumped onto the moving goods train, grabbing the side ladder and turning around just in time to wave them goodbye as he disappeared in between the houses, along with the long goods train.

"Damn it!" Cursed the female tug, as the radio on her back perked up.

"Rebecca? What happened?!" Asked Edwin, who heard her curse on the other side of the train.

"He jumped onto the train!" She replied.

"Hmm, according to the timetable of the dockside railway, this goods train stops at every shed to refill the coal towers there. We'll catch him at the next shed, further north near the main transfer yard!" Said Edwin.

"And what if he jumps off before the train gets there?"

"The line is too narrow for him to jump off. He'd only injure himself further if he did."

"We all know he'd do it anyways! I'll go and follow him!" Said Rebecca as she shut her radio off, handing it over to Mac and ran up to the goods train, just as the last truck passed them.

She quickly grabbed the side ladder and pulled herself up, looking over to the other tugs as they stared after the disappearing train.

"Stay safe! And hold on tight! You should reach the yards in about 10-20 minutes!" Shouted Edwin, while Rebecca gave him a thumbs up to show that she understood.

Comet smiled as the warm breeze flew around his nose as the train rumbled through the early evening down the tracks towards the engine sheds. They weren't all that far away, but since the railway was running through plenty of streets, and since most of the crossings weren't covered by any gates, the train had to move at 10 miles per hour. The breeze helped to calm himself down and also took his mind off of his injuries. They finally left the narrow paths behind them and Comet could already see the yards coming up in front of him. The train veered off of the main line as it entered the shunting yards. Comet slowly climbed down the ladder and over the buffers onto the other side of the truck, where he jumped off the train, landing hard on the ground. He winced in pain as he hit the ground, grasping his side by reflex. He slowly stood upright again and walked along the side of the still moving train, witnessing as it slowed down until it got to a complete stop. Comet kept walking, passing the long black goods locomotive with its ten small driving wheels, as he finally saw his goal. The big, brick built roundhouse shed, with the large turntable in front of it, and the plentiful doors, most of them already closed, but with one, still having a small, almost not visible light on inside it. He smiled as he started his final leg of his journey, not noticing that Rebecca had climbed down from the train and was now running to catch him once and for all. When she reached the front of the train however, the fellow railway tug was nowhere to be found. She looked around and saw a slight flickering inside the dark sheds, as if somebody with a lamp was walking around inside there.

"Found you." She whispered with a smirk, as she quickly walked over to the sheds.

Comet was finally inside the sheds, walking up to the engine he wanted to see. He quickly reached her, standing with the smokebox towards the rear shed walls, the number 23 on her tender in white, almost glowing into the dark. He slowly walked along the side of the engine, supporting himself on it as he finally reached the cab. He pulled himself into the cabin, and sat down on the driver seat, sighting in relief.

"What a day..." He sighted tiredly, his eyes starting to close from the exhaustion.

"I can tell. You worked hard today again, right?" Came a well-known voice that made all the tiredness in his eyes disappear as he turned to the firemans side, where Fubuki had climbed up just now.

"Everything done on time, no delays and no complaints. I kept my part of the deal." Grinned Comet, not telling her that he didn't managed to keep another, more important part of the deal.

"Alright my Shooting Star." Fubuki purred, moving closer to the tugboat and pulling him into a deep kiss.

"Oh, I really need to see you more during the day." Growled Comet after the kiss, his eyes burning with passion and desire.

"I would lie if I'd say I didn't feel the same way, but what use would our deal be if we did that?" She asked, their noses touching as she moved closer again.

"Well, it would encourage me to keep my part of it, knowing what would await me at the end of the day." Purred Comet with a smile, as Fubuki smiled back at him.

They went back to their make out session, Fubuki getting a bit more daring this time and moved her hands through his hair and down his back. What made her stop in the movement however, were the feeling of something made of fabric in the tugboats hair and on his back, and the raised temperature she felt from his head.

"Comet? Are you..are you alright?" She asked in between kisses.

"Fit as a fiddle." He said, but he couldn't really suppress his tiredness in his voice.

"Are you sure? You feel kind of hot. Did you catch a cold?" She asked again, concerned for his health.

"I am sure. Let's continue." He said and moved in, but a strong wave of dizziness hit him and made him stop in his movements, making him fall back against the cab wall.

"Comet!" Shouted Fubuki, concern written all over her face as she saw the tugboat so vulnerable. His face had lost most of its color, and his eyes were losing focus slowly.

"Okay... I might be a bit under the weather..." He wheezed.

"What happened to you...?" The destroyer whispered, moving some hair strands out of the way, now seeing the bandage around his head.

"What the-?" She murmured, as she lifted the shirt of the tugboat, seeing the other bandage, soaked in blood.

"C-Comet? W-what happened to you?" She stuttered again.

"I might've gotten a slight hit from the engine here when she was running at somewhat above 30 knots trying to save Akatsuki and her sisters from getting run over..." He said with an meek smile, only to get slapped by Fubuki.

"You lied to me! You said you wouldn't risk anything, not unless we were both out there **together**! And you didn't even get into the docks! You could have all kinds of diseases with those unattended wounds! Not to mention the blood you might already have lost!" Fubuki scolded, her eyes filled with hurt, anger and frustration about the tugboat, who just looked at the ground in shame.

"I-I thought I would manage... At least until after we've met again. I wanted to see you again... I didn't wanted to disappoint you... I wanted to show you I'd be able to get through two days without wrecking myself..." He huffed with a low voice.

Fubukis angered expression softened somewhat, as she let out a soft sight.

"Oh you silly great dummy..." She said, kissing him again briefly.

"I guess I should've known you'd do something like this. It's what makes you you after all." She continued softly.

Comet smiled slightly in return, before his eyes fell shut.

"Comet? Comet! Comet wake up!" Fubuki said, shaking him, trying to wake him up, but he wouldn't wake up. He had fallen unconscious.

"We've got to get you to the docks and fast!" Mumbled the destroyer as she tried to lift him up, but couldn't lift him on her own.

She looked outside of the cab, looking for anybody left in the shed, but except for several locomotives, the sheds were empty. Standing up to get outside, she suddenly saw something with which she knew she could call for help. After all, Comet told her plenty about whistle codes.

"Please still have some steam..." She whispered as she tug on the rope, relieved when she heard the deep, booming blast of the engines whistle echoing through the building.

She released the cord, before pulling again, another short burst coming from the steel monster, followed by one further blast before the engine went silent again.

"I just hope somebody heard it." Fubuki pleaded.

Her hopes were answered when the shed door was opened and a familiar female steam tug walked inside, a frown on her face as she saw Fubuki.

"You again. I know he is here, hand him out, we need to get him to the docks." Rebecca said coldly.

"He passed out. I need your help to carry him." Explained Fubuki, as Rebecca's eyes widened, but she nodded nonetheless.

They climbed aboard the locomotive and carried him to the cab entry. Fubuki went down first, and took Comet over, holding him up on her own until Rebecca got down from the locomotive as well. With Fubuki on the right and Rebecca on the left side of Comet, they carried the unconscious railway tug out of the engine shed.

"How far is it from here until the docks?" Asked Rebecca.

"Pretty far. We're almost outside of the northwestern side of the harbor. The docks are located near the launching station at the center. I hope he holds out until we're there." Explained Fubuki as they started to walk on a road next to the railway tracks, until it split from the tracks, rows and rows of warehouses surrounding them as they headed down the road, back towards the center of the harbor.

"You picked a great spot to go Fubuki. _Really_ great." Grumbled Rebecca.

"Comet picked it, not me! And I doubt he'd planed us to carry him to the docks when he chose this place!" Countered Fubuki.

"Why would he want to lure you out here anyways?" Asked the female tugboat.

"That's none of your business. He just wanted to get out here so that we wouldn't be disturbed." Said the destroyer shortly, not wanting to say too much in case Rebecca would find out their secret.

"Huh? _Disturbed_? While doing what?" Asked the tugboat, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the destroyer.

"Oh? Uh, you know, just doing... stuff..." Murmured Fubuki.

"And what kind of _stuff?"_

Fubuki was almost out of ideas when luckily, an old military truck moved up in front of them, and captain Walters jumped out of the drivers cabin, followed by Prometheus who got out of the passenger side. The rest of the Steam Tugs followed from the back of the truck.

"Oh dear, what happened?" Asked captain Walters.

"He passed out, he was feeling pretty hot earlier, and he looked very pale." Explained Fubuki.

"This could be serious. We've got to get him to the docks fast! Bull, Boomer, lift him onto the truck. Prometheus, this time, I'll let you drive." Said the admiral, as the others gulped, Prometheus doing so as well, but nodded nonetheless.

The knocked out tugboat was lifted onto the back of the truck, and the others made some space for Rebecca and Fubuki, who sat next to Comet on each side. Fubuki looked up shortly from her boyfriend, when she saw the others tying themselves to the truck via ropes, which acted as a kind of safety belt.

"Better buckle up lassies." Said Bull gruffly.

"Why? Is the road so bad?" Asked Rebecca.

"Nah, but Prometheus is drivin', and ya don't want ta be free ta bob aroun' in here once he starts ta drive." Replied the harbor tug as the two girls tied themselves up.

"I can't really imagine Prometheus being a reckless driver. After all, he is so kind and gentle, not what I would expect from someone like that." Said Fubuki.

"That might be so, but my poor brother is like a different being once behind the steering wheel of a motorcar. It's a bit like the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Sighted Churchill, but they couldn't continue talking as the wheels of the truck screeched on the concrete road, and the truck turned around, shaking its passengers as it thundered down the road.

After not even five minutes of traveling, they reached the docks. Prometheus calmly climbed out of the truck, captain Walters doing the same. Their passengers weren't so calm though. Mac and Rock were bubbling about, giggling and wanting to go for another ride, while Churchill, Boomer, Bull and Edwin were as pale as chalk. Fubuki and Rebecca were green in the face and were slightly wobbling on their legs as they tried to lift Comet from the truck. Prometheus quickly came over and helped them, easily lifting the fellow tugboat on his own as he walked with him into the docks. A short while later, and Comet was finally settled into one of the docks berths, while the Steam Tugs fleet, Fubuki and Rebecca were gathering in front of the dressing room.

"The dock workers gave me an quick rundown of Comets situation. Apparently, he caught a blood infection after oil from the motion parts got into his blood system, hence the fever and the paleness. He should be fine in a few days, but he was lucky to get here when he did, he might wouldn't have seen the next morning if he didn't." Explained the captain, turning to Fubuki.

"Which brings us to the question of **why** he didn't come here right away, and instead worked his duties after uselessly patching himself up with bandages and fleeing from us just to get to the main locomotive depot to meet you, Fubuki."

Fubuki looked at the group of tugboats, all looking at her with expecting expressions, with the exception of Mac and Prometheus. Mac was looking at her with a worried expression, while Prometheus gave her a short, reassuring smile, before putting on an unreadable expression. The destroyer sighted, hoping Comet would forgive her.

"Well, you see, the last time Comet was in here, after he and Mac saved the loading port from destruction, he and I made a deal, to make sure he would at least not kill himself while **inside** of the port." Started Fubuki, scratching her neck while looking anywhere but to the tugs.

"Huh, must've worked well if he almost killed himself not even two whole days after he got out of here! What kind of deal was that anyways?" Scoffed Rebecca.

Fubuki started to blush as she tried to explain.

"W-w-well, it was actually quite simple. At the end of every day where he wouldn't injure himself, and where he finishes all his duties without delay or mishaps, he and I would... we would..." She trailed off, her head being bright red now.

"Well? He and you would...?" Ask Churchill, wanting to finally get rid of this whole situation.

"HeandIwouldspentsometimealonetogether!" Fubuki quickly said, far too quickly for any of them to understand, before she looked to the ground, blushing even harder than physically possible.

"...What?" Asked captain Walters, as he tried to decipher the sentence.

"She said that she and our dear Comet would spent some time together with only the two of them whenever he would get through a day without injuring himself outside of battle." Explained Prometheus, who either understood what she had said, or simply wanted to help the young destroyer in her situation.

"Wait, **that's** what you two have been hiding?! That you two spent some time together after work?! _**That's**_ why he nearly got himself killed today?!" Asked Churchill in disbelief that this was the answer to their question, the others thinking so as well, with the exception of five people: Edwin, who had an amused look on his face, captain Walters, who just shook his head with a grin, while covering his eyes so that nobody would see the tears from the laughter he tried to suppress, Mac, who followed the situation with concern, Prometheus, who kept his unreadable expression up and Rebecca, who had a look of shock on her face, as she stared at the Fleetgirl.

"Nono Churchill! I think you don't understand what Ms. Fubuki is trying to tell you! What she is trying to say is, that they were spending some _alone time_ together!" Tried Edwin again, while Fubuki twitched slightly, deeply embarrassed when she heard the words 'alone time'.

"That's what I just said! And I can't understand why they would hide the fact that they spend time alo-! Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhhh." Churchill started, but stopped himself when he finally got what the older paddle steamer and the other ocean going tug implied, before blushing slightly at his disrespectful manner.

"In-, erm, in that case, I can somewhat understand why you would want to hide your evening exploits." He said meekly, embarrassed as he now understood why Comet couldn't and wouldn't tell them about this situation.

"That still doesn't explain why he didn't go to the docks straight away after his accident." Frowned Edwin.

"That is also partly my fault. In an attempt to encourage him, I told him yesterday morning that we would only do anything at the end of the day, as an extra addition to our deal. He was a little reluctant, but I convinced him." Explained the destroyer further.

"That would explain his increased work drive..." Muttered captain Walters to himself.

"We agreed that he wouldn't see me durning the day if it wasn't durning training where we had to work together, so that he couldn't cheat on the deal in any way." Finished the destroyer, having calmed down somewhat, her blush now just a slight pink hue on her cheeks.

"Now I see why he tried ta keep working with his injury. He just tried ta get ta his girlfriend and ta show her that he could survive a day or two without any injuries." Smiled Bull.

"That explains why he got home so late yesterday as well!" Bubbled Rock.

"Y-yes. He was with me last night as well." Stuttered Fubuki.

"So, that explains Comets behavior over the last few days, but there is still a question I would like to have answered." Said captain Walters.

"Yes?"

"When did you two plan on telling the others that you two are together now?"

"W-well, w-we did want to tell everyone s-someday, b-but right now we didn't thought it would've been.."

"Fitting?" Came a new voice.

"Yes, that's righ-" Fubuki stopped when she noticed **who** was speaking.

She spun around and saw the admiral, smiling as he stood in the doorway into the docks.

"I should've known that it was something like this. Why else would Comet suddenly increase his efforts in such a way and be so afraid to continue his training if there wasn't a higher goal?" Chuckled the man, as he stepped in front of Fubuki, who right now wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground.

"Well, this certainly is a new situation we have here. I just don't know what to do now." The admiral said, his face pulled into a fake frown; internally, he was grinning broadly at his little game.

"P-p-please sir, don't punish Comet or anything, he didn't do anything wrong!" Fubuki began, but the admiral held up his hand.

"Please, settle down. Fubuki, since the two of you have both violated one of the ground rules of the navies fleetgirl section, the two of you will be taken off the roster for any sorties over the following week. After he has gotten back to full operational condition, Comet will be sent up the river to work the contracts at the lake in Rocks place, while Rock will take over Comets duties down here. That will also help him get a clear head again." Said the admiral, as most of the tugs hearts sank.

"But sir, please overthink this again!" Said Mac.

"He didn't do anything wrong!" Cried Rock.

"I doubt Comet will follow those orders..." Muttered Bull.

"Sir, I as well think that this is a highly doubtful order-." Began Churchill.

" **Enough**! I have made up my mind, and that is final! If Comet refuses to follow my orders, I will have to increase the punishment! But to make sure than he doesn't slack off on the duties up at the lake, I will need someone who constantly supervises him, and reports to me on a daily basis. Fubuki! Seeing that you aren't rostered for any sorties over the next few days, you will supervise that he fulfills his punishment." Boomed the admiral.

"S-sir...?" Stuttered Fubuki, shocked as the others were at the sudden turn.

"I expect that nothing goes wrong, or the two of you will be in **serious** trouble." Said the man sternly, but the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his true intentions.

Fubukis shocked expression turned to one of relief and then to determination as she saluted the admiral.

"Yes sir!" She said, fire burning in her eyes as she gave him a determined smile.

"Very well. Now why are you all clogging up the entry to the docks? Go and get some sleep! Work doesn't waits for nobody! Good night." Said the man as he turned and walked out of the building again, leaving a lot of confused tugboats behind him.

"Uh, what exactly happened right now?" Asked Boomer, more confused that he usually was.

"I think the admiral just gave Comet and Fubuki a few days' worth of holiday..." Said Edwin slowly, before chuckling.

"Anyways, you heard the man! Let's go home. This day has been a bit too long for my liking..." Said captain Walters as he and the others walked outside of the building.

All except Rebecca. She still stood there, shocked from learning what had happened the last two nights between Comet and Fubuki. She slowly looked over towards Fubuki, who was looking back at her, confused and a bit concerned about the female railway tug. Rebecca shook her head, as she headed for the door, not looking back at the destroyer still standing inside the room. She didn't knew exactly what to do right now, so she turned around and headed back inside the main dock room, checking upon Comet. The tugboat in question was still unconscious, the bandage around his head having slipped down somewhat, covering his left eye, making him a funny sight. Fubuki smiled softly when she saw him, and leaned down to give him a small kiss. However, as soon as she wanted to pull back, she felt him kiss back, turning the small peck into a rather drawn out make out session. Once their need for air was too big to ignore, they pulled back from each other, gasping the air in with large gasps.

"...okay, that's one way I'd like to get woken up each morning!" Gasped Comet with half closed eyes.

"Well, you have to wait until tomorrow then." Grinned Fubuki.

"Say, I didn't happened to have passed out on board of #23, did I?" Asked the tug, as Fubuki gave him an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah, you did. Rebecca helped me get you out of the engine and sheds, and once the rest of your fleet came up, drove you here with that truck. I didn't knew you had such a thing!" Explained Fubuki.

"Hehe, yeah. We sometimes need it to get coal from the sheds, whenever our shipment didn't come. Usually Bull drives, since he's the most competent driver. But as long as Prometheus, Mac nor Rock doesn't get behind the controls, it's usually safe. ...Who drove us here?" Asked Comet as he saw into the face of the destroyer, seeing that the color had disappeared from it the second he mentioned the three tugboats.

"Uhhhh, hehehehe... Prometheus did..."

"I'm surprised that we survived that run then. Wait. They didn't ask about us, right?" Asked Comet, nervous about the answer he thought he would be getting.

"Yes, they did." Sighted Fubuki.

"Sooooo, that means what I think it means?"

"If you think that they know about us now, then yes." Said Fubuki softly, to which Comet sighted.

"Ugh... Welp, in that case, I think we can stop hiding now. If they know, then it'll only take until tomorrow afternoon before the whole harbor knows!" Said Comet.

"Well, the admiral knows already and-"

"Wait, what?! Since when?!"

"He was listening to me explaining our deal to the other Steam Tugs."

"Great. Perfect. _Fantastic_! If he thinks he can separate me from you, I'll show him what a steam tug can do!" Thundered Comet as he tried to stand up, only for his injured left side to make him buckle and fall back into the docks.

"Stay in there! Please! You'll only hurt yourself further! He doesn't wants to pull us apart! I think..." Pleaded Fubuki.

"...you think?"

"He told us that you and me would be off the roster for any sorties for the next few days, and that once you are back on your legs again, you would work up at the lake for a few days, and that I should accompany you to make sure you would do your duties there." Explained Fubuki.

"Did the admiral gave us a holiday as a punishment?"

"Edwin said exactly the same thing earlier. I think it's some sort of way to keep us out of the spotlight while the admiral tries to explain it to the other fleet girls." Pondered Fubuki, but was caught off guard as she was suddenly pulled into the berth as well as Comet hugged her tightly.

"Ah well, whatever the reason is, I know two things: first, I no longer need to hide who my heart belongs to and second, I'll be together with said girl for a few nice, calm days at a lake." He purred, kissing her neck as Fubuki let out a soft moan, before blushing, hoping that nobody heard her.

"Don't worry my little Blizzard, the chaps have the evening off; would've gotten in here and patched myself up if I had kept consciousness for a bit longer." Muttered Comet, as Fubuki turned around to face him.

"You had blood poisoning from oil that got into your blood system. You probably would've died on the way here." She said with an cold expression.

"...okay, reminds me of not getting myself hit by a speeding goods engine in the future. You really saved my life this time around. I don't even know how to repay you." Murmured the railway tug as held her tight, trying to make her forget the past hour.

"Well, it was all of us really, without Rebecca I wouldn't have gotten you out of the locomotive, and without the rest of your fleet, we wouldn't have gotten you here so quickl-" She was cut off by another kiss from Comet.

"That's just so you, my little Blizzard. Always thinking of others first. That's one of the things that makes you so wonderful." Whispered Comet with a smile.

"Sweet talker." Mumbled the destroyer, blushing again.

"Only telling the truth my dear." Purred the tugboat as he kissed her again, continuing where they had left off in the locomotive's cab.

It was good that they already were in the docks. The number of hickeys and love bites left on each other's necks would've been too great to conceal properly.

After a few days, Comet once again left the docks. Fubuki often visited him over the time he spent there, glad to escape the other fleet girls asking her all kind of questions about her relationship with the steam tug, as well as getting some further alone time with him. The admiral had given orders out to the fleetgirls, as well as the tug fleets to keep the information about Comets relationship with Fubuki a secret from the people outside of the naval district, as to make sure that nobody higher in the navy hierarchy would find out and properly punish the two of them for disobeying of military orders. Captain Walters already set up a plan for Comet, having him stationed up river full time over the next few days, at the joint lakeside base of operations. Usually, he would travel up there on his own with his equipment, but since Fubuki would accompany him, the captain decided to go for a more, _unusual_ way of getting them there. As such, Comet would pick up Fubuki first, before heading with her towards the one place that was rarely visited by any of them, or anybody for that matter these days: the old dockside passenger station. It once used to be a grand terminal for passengers to interchange from the ships that docked here to the trains to bring them further inland, but since the war against the Abyssal started and passenger transportation on waterways basically ended completely, the terminal was abandoned for the most part. It was still mostly clean, but weeds were already springing up between the rails, and an eerie atmosphere seemed to haunt the station.

"I can't even remember when this station was busy..." Sighted Comet as he looked around, the plentiful tracks seemingly taunting with their emptiness.

"It feels kind of weird that none of us ever was here before..." Muttered Fubuki.

"Nobody arrives at this station anymore. When passenger ocean liners stopped crossing the oceans, the railway decided to stop bringing their trains down here. From what Mr. Brady told me, all passenger trains end at the station in the town these days." Explained the tugboat.

"Do you have any idea why captain Walters wanted us to come here?" Asked Fubuki.

"No idea. I can't see anything that could be of interest for us as well." Huffed the railway tug.

However, a few seconds later, something of interest **did** show up, namely a long, blue passenger coach, slowly rolling backwards towards them. Pushing the coach was none other than locomotive #23, with Mr. Brady leaning out of the cab, making sure that he wouldn't push the coach through the buffers at the end of the track. He stopped next to the couple, as captain Walters stepped out of the coach.

"Good to see that you two are on time! Now then, your equipment has already been loaded into the baggage compartment inside the coach, just get on board, Allan will drive you to the lake." Explained the man.

"I didn't knew we owned a passenger coach..." Whispered Comet, his eyes wide at the sight of a passenger train once again inside the station.

"It was about to be scraped when I spotted it a few days ago! Scrapers didn't wanted it, so I bought it off on the cheap side. A combined passenger/baggage coach, perfect for transporting passengers and goods if needed be!" Called Mr. Brady from the engines cab.

"Since when can you afford your own passenger coach?! That thing must've cost you a small fortune!" Exclaimed Comet, shocked at the acquirement of his friend.

"Ever since the railway handed me my last check when I ended to work for them! That was a lot of zeros in front of that comma I tell you!" Laughed the man, as captain Walters cleared his throat.

"Anyways, you two better get aboard, the admiral wouldn't want you two to be late to start your 'punishment'." Ordered the captain, as Comet and Fubuki saluted.

"Yes sir!" They both said as they climbed aboard.

A few minutes later, the signal at the end of the track rose, and with a deep blast of the locomotive's whistle, they set off towards the lake.

 **Abyssal base, Antarctic Ocean, same time and date...**

" _Are you sure you should be walking around already? You still haven't healed completely_." Said a light cruiser to the battleship as said one stormed down the hallway.

" _I'm fine. After all, a few hits from a simple tugboat won't stop me from carrying out my duty_." Replied the battleship as they reached their leader.

" _I_ _hope you've fully recovered from your last battle."_ Said the leader, her voice soft and smooth, but still ice cold, sending shivers through the other two ships.

" _I'm ready to repay that tugboat for foiling our plans for the destroyer. He will witness her demise. I'll make sure there is a front row seat for him."_ The battleship hissed, anger flaring in her eyes.

" _Very good. The Red one asked when we would attack again. He is overly eager. He will get his wish. Issue the order out to every ship ready. We shall finish what we started long ago. And we will start with their main base. And this time, there won't be anything left to rebuilt."_ The leader said, her red eyes glowing in the semi-darkness, as the battleship and light cruiser nodded, before leaving.

" _Special_ _destroyer Fubuki... You fooled us twice, but you will be the biggest fool at the end of this battle..."_ The leader smirked, before turning silent again, making the room seem empty in the semi-darkness...

 **Well, looks like there is trouble on the horizon once more aye? Now, I know the thought of a locomotive that can swim on the water is somewhat disturbing to some of you, but there are plenty of books and TV series that have swimming railway vehicles in them, such as the anime "One Piece" and the story "Jim Button and Luke the engine driver" by Michael Ende. Would it actually be possible in real life? I'm not sure, one would need to try it, but I think nobody would fund that project, due to the fact that it wouldn't bring much in the end, other than the fact that a theory is proven. Also, as this story continues to develop, I might have to turn the rating for it from "Teen" to "Mature", due to certain elements in the next few chapters. I hope you lot will understand this. Anyways, until next time, have a nice day/night/whatever you'd call the period of day you are currently having.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, on we go with a new chapter! Now, due to the content of this chapter, I decided to turn this story from a 'T' rating to an 'M' rating. I also think this will help with further development of the story, for there will be some rather grim and for some even disturbing scenes coming up in future chapters yet to be published. For those of you who'd like to skip the 'M' rated section of this chapter, I made a warning within the chapter where the said section begins. That is all I can really add for now, enjoy the chapter!**

Comet and Fubuki enjoyed the ride to the lake, it was different than traveling inside the cab, but also enjoyable, being able to cuddle up to each other as they watched the landscape pass by outside. Fubuki had already fallen asleep during the ride, and Comet was drowsing away as well, when from outside the loud blast of the locomotive's whistle reached his ears. He sleepily opened one eye slightly, seeing the school building passing on the right side, before disappearing from his view. He yawned and stretched himself, slowly sitting up, trying to let Fubuki sleep just a few more minutes until they had to get out. He couldn't move that much though, as Fubuki was keeping him restrained from any larger movements, her grip tight around the railway tugs neck. Comet smiled as he moved in and kissed the destroyer deeply, successfully waking her up from her slumber.

"Morning my little Blizzard. We're nearly there." Whispered Comet softly.

"That was quick." Yawned the destroyer as she looked out of the coach, seeing the houses, stores and restaurants pass by them as they slowly rolled through the streets, before entering the yards.

But instead of heading further onwards towards the main passenger station, the train made a turn to the left, and exited the yards again, slowly heading down a goods only line towards the industrial estate. Partly down the line, they stopped, but only for about a minute before they continued moving again.

"Do you have any idea where we are heading to?" Asked Fubuki, confused that they were still traveling.

"I have a guess, but I didn't think they still use this piece of track anymore."

Comet walked to the window and opened it, leaning outside to see in front of them. He pulled his head in again with a smile.

"Yeah, I know where we are heading now." Smiled Comet, as the suddenly, everything went black around them.

"C-Comet?! What's happening?" Asked Fubuki, slightly startled by the sudden turn of events.

"Don't worry little Blizzard, everything is under control." Purred the soft voice of Comet, as something soft and warm pressed into her lips, and a warm, fuzzy feeling went through her body as she returned the kiss.

The feeling of the kiss seemed to be stronger in the complete darkness and the destroyers emotions seemed to completely take control of her as the kiss deepened, neither of them wanting to let go any time soon. After a few minutes, the train exited the tunnel again, not that the two passengers cared, as they continued to kiss each other, somehow already having managed to move from a standing position back to the seating benches.

"Mmmmmmh, I wish days like these would never end..." Purred Comet in a low voice.

"Shh, don't talk..." Fubuki whispered, sealing their lips together again.

The train slowed to a stop a little while later, but none of the two noticed. They also didn't noticed that somebody had climbed aboard their coach, and was walking towards them with an bemused smile on his face.

"End of the line kids, and get a room before this gets any further!" Said Mr. Brady, snapping them out of it, and making them scramble to get to a less embarrassing position, both blushing madly from embarrassment and excitement.

"I-I didn't knew the line was still open for trains to go onto them..." Comet said, trying to divert them from their current predicament.

"It hasn't seen that much service these days, but the railway keeps it open for the sporadic traffic down here. They got a truck full of coal down here just this morning for you and the others that come past here." Explained Mr. Brady, as they exited the coach.

Fubuki looked around, taking in the new surroundings. They stood on a lonely little platform, with an small house nearby, with a short length of track beside it, on which a small brown truck stood, loaded with coal. The house was near the water, where what looked like a very small launching station was built partly into the lake. The town was a little distance away from their position, but they were still able to see its port and the lakeside shops, restaurants and hotels. The lake was calm, and only in the distance they could see several small boats, sailing across the calm waters.

"It's so... quiet..." Fubuki said.

"Yeah, this house was built as a backup base of operations for the tugs back in the days when most work up here was done on the river. It's now used as somewhat of a hotel for the tug fleets that operate here in the area and from further up the river, so don't be surprised if somebody drops in from time to time. Schedule is on the table inside the main dining room, the beds have already been made, one room for you and one for Comet. Although I think it was a waste of time to get _two_ beds ready." Winked Brady as he helped to unload the luggage and Comets outfit onto the platform.

"Anyways, Puffa, Chuck, Hiro and Takeo got the run up to the lakeside this week, so expect them to show up around here every once in a while. I have to go now, the admiral said I should train with the Sendai sisters until they are ready to be deployed again. I'll see you two in a few days. Bye!" Called Brady as he got back into the cab again and reversed the engine out of the platform, and back towards the harbor.

"Well, let's get comfy then! I'll store my stuff in the launching station, you'll go ahead inside, I'll be with you shortly!" Said Comet as he grabbed his suit, threw it onto his shoulder and walked off to the launching station.

Once inside, he blindly searched the walls for the light switch, searching along the whole side of the wall before he gave up, and turned back towards the entry door. As soon as he reached the door however, he bumped into somebody, throwing the person unintentionally to the ground.

"Oops, sorry lad- oh! Dundee! What a surprise! What are you doing here?" Asked the railway tug as he helped the alligator up.

"Looking which one of ya wants to spent a few days helping out up here of course! At first I thought it was Rock, but he never came here by train, so I checked in and saw how you walked in here. Also, the light switch is on the outside." Explained the smaller tug as he flipped the switch on, bringing light into the dark building.

"Wow! I knew it has been some time since anyone of us older tugs were stationed here, but I at least thought Rock would be so sensible to clean this place up!" Said Comet as he inspected the chaos that was the launching station.

Dust had settled on everything it could, boxes laid around, their contents scattered across the floor. Several puddles of various liquids were on the ground, making walking through the room a dangerous hazard.

"Okay, first things first, cleaning up this whole mess. Want to help me, Mr. Alligator?" Asked Comet, only to turn around and seeing that the small tugboat was nowhere to be seen.

"Ugh, thought so. Alright, looks like it's just me and this mess then." Sighted the railway tug as he started to clean up the chaos.

Fubuki had finished putting her clothes for the next few days into the cupboards in her room. She was wondering where Comet was, after all, putting away the suit shouldn't take **that** long. She walked outside again, and to the small launching station. Looking inside, she saw Comet, putting away a final pair of boxes onto a shelf, finally finishing the cleanup operation.

"Aaaaaand done! I'll better tell those two little rascals to not touch anything once they are back up here again. On that note, one should think that the other tugs that spend their nights here would at least partly take care of this place..." Smiled the railway tug as he turned around, seeing Fubuki in the doorway.

When the destroyer saw him however, she started giggling, trying to calm down quickly, but failing whenever she looked the tugboat in the eyes. While he enjoyed seeing her having fun, he was confused about what she was finding so funny.

"What's so funny?" He asked, to which Fubuki managed to finally stop chuckling, thinking she had upset him.

"S-sorry Comet, you just look so funny!" Said the girl as Comet raised an eyebrow, before heading towards the bathroom, to check himself.

Once he reached it and looked into the mirror, he saw why he looked so funny. His face was smeared with oil and grease, with only the tip of his nose still being clean.

"Oh dear, I look like somebody threw me into an ashpan!" Groaned the tug as he started to wash his face, rubbing down his face, but it only partly helped.

"I think you need a bath Comet!" Chuckled Fubuki.

"Ugh, just what I needed. Can't it wait until _after_ I finished my duties for today?" Asked the railway tug.

"Nope! Churchill would never let me hear the end of it if he would find out I'd let you run around looking like that!" Grinned the destroyer as Comet sighted.

"Alright, alright, I'll go, I'll go. Sheesh, you almost sound like Churchill talking like that." He grumbled as he headed towards the house, Fubuki following him to make sure that he would do as he was told, and not hide somewhere until he could sneak to his suit.

After Comet finished his bath, and cleaned up the bath tub since the water was pitch black after he was out of it, he joined Fubuki in the living room of the house. It was small, with a four seat table, a small sofa with a coffee table in front of it and a radio, sitting on a cupboard, playing some music. Fubuki smiled warmly when he walked to her, sitting at the table with a plate of curry in front of her, and another waiting for him.

"Did you make this?" He asked.

"Yes, I thought you'd needed some food before heading off to work." She beamed, as Comet blushed, a warm smile crossing his face as he leaned forwards and kissed her warmly.

"You are amazing Fubuki. I'm the luckiest tugboat in the whole world to have somebody as kind and caring as you as my girlfriend." He said softly, cupping her cheek with his right hand.

"You're too sweet. But usually, dessert is served after dinner." She retorted, blushing from being praised by her boyfriend.

"Sometimes, you just have to go for it." He whispered with an almost inaudible voice, as they moved in for another long, drawn out kiss, before letting go of each other, both their cheeks now bright red, as they settled down on their seats again.

"Erm, anyways, thank you for the food!" He said, before digging in.

Fubuki smiled warmly as she started to eat her portion as well.

After finishing their lunch, Comet went to the launching station to get ready for his duties. His schedule was rather short, work had been going back from the height that it had reached during the time of the large wood order, with only a few barges of wood that had to be shuttled from the sawmills to the town's port. A bigger, more important work was the transportation from one of the smaller lakes to the loading station at the lake's shore. The logs were gathered in the lake, restrained by a pair of barges, so that they could easily bring them to the loading stations onto the railway trucks and the barges for further transportation. Once at the lake, he saw how much work waited for him: thousands of logs, drifting on top of the water, all waiting to be brought to their destination. The tugboat sighted as he slowly stopped next to the loading pier.

"The admiral really knows how to make a punishment that is both enjoyable and exhausting. This will take weeks to get sorted out!" He groaned.

"Then I suggest you better start now! We have to get these flatbeds here loaded up in time before Puffa comes here with the first load of empties!" Called the crane operator from the pier, pointing at the rows of trucks that stood on the track next to it.

In the yards, several further trains of empty flatbeds stood, with an old, roofless 2-4-0 tank engine, waiting on a siding for work.

"Aye sir..." Mumbled Comet as he grabbed his rope from his belt and started to tie some of the logs together for the crane.

Hours went by, and by the time Puffa got there, the first two trains were already loaded.

"Good work Comet! And not one log set ablaze!" Laughed Puffa from his cab.

"Very funny Preston! Get a move on, the sawmills need some work!" Shouted Comet as the small tank engine trundled off with the train of loaded flatbeds in tow.

Until sunset, Hiro and Chuck came by and dropped off their empty trains, all giving a friendly blast of their engines whistle and a short wave to the tugboat, while said one crisscrossed the lake over and over again, gathering the logs in sets of three or five, and pulling them to the crane to transfer them onto the railway trucks. At last, a deep, booming whistle ended the workday for the men, and Comet could finally breath again. While the number of logs had decreased, there were still plenty to go, and more would come within the morning once the Lumberjacks further upstream would send further logs down the river.

"Good work junior! A few further days and you'll be as experienced as Bull in matters of logging!" Laughed one of the burly men as they walked past the resting tug, who just looked at them with a tired and unamused expression.

"I'll stick to railway rolling stock transfer operations, thank you very much." He heaved, as the Forman of the loading pier walked up to him.

"Good work indeed Comet. You've made good progress, but I suggest that you'll head home now. It is getting colder again around here, and we don't want you to freeze on the spot." He chuckled.

"Well, it is getting closer to winter again. Gosh time flies by these days..." Muttered the tugboat.

"Aye. Anyways, be here at 7am sharp tomorrow! There'll be more work waiting for you once you're back! Good night!" Said the Forman as he headed towards the town himself.

Comet slowly chuffed through the early evening. Even though it was still warm at the coast, the lakes in the hills usually were the first to be hit by frost and snow. A slow breeze picked up, but this one wasn't as comfortable as the one he felt just a few days ago when he was riding on the goods train. The cold air was biting him, and for the first time since the last winter, he could see his breath in front of him.

"Tomorrow I'll wear my coat and scarf. I don't need to freeze in this bloody weather..." He grumbled as he finally reached his temporary home, quickly dropping his suit in the launching station and heading into the warmth of the house.

"Back again Comet?" Asked the elderly man that sat at the reception desk, keeping track of the tugs that came and went at the hotel

"Yes and by the look of things, I'll be coming back at this time over the next few days as well." He said with a smile.

"Anyways, did Fubuki leave the 'hotel' or is she still here?" The tugboat asked.

"No, she is still here. Last time I saw her, she was waiting for you to return in the living room." Answered the receptionist.

"Alright, thanks!" Said Comet and headed towards the said room.

He walked inside and found her sleeping on the couch, the radio playing some soft music while a plate with food waited at the table, probably his dinner.

"You really are incredible Fubuki..." He smiled to himself, as he leaned down and softly kissed her cheek, before sitting down and eating his dinner.

After he finished his meal and put the dishes away, he walked back into the living room, to check upon his girlfriend. When he saw that she hadn't woken up yet, he switched the radio off and picked her up, carrying her upstairs to her room. He softly put her onto her bed, but when he wanted to go again, he noticed that something was restraining his movements, or rather, some **one.**

"Okay Fubuki, let me go now, I've got to go to sleep now or I won't be able to wake up tomorrow." Comet said, but when he didn't get a response, he knew that Fubuki was still asleep.

He sighted, thinking about his options. Either he'd wake her up and ask her to release him, or he could move her a few inches further and sleep next to her.

"Well, good night then Fubuki." He whispered, as he gently moved her a bit further to the right, and settled down next to her, pulling her closer to himself, and hugging her as he went to sleep.

The calm and quiet slumber of the two was cut short by the annoying ringing of a bell, as the alarm clock next to the bed rang. Comet frowned in his sleep, pulling his right arm from Fubuki and blindly searching for the clock, finally finding it and promptly throwing it against the wall, shutting it up. His frown softened and he pulled his hand under the blanket again. However, before he could enter the realm of dreams again, another dream in front of him began to stir, urging him to take action as well. He slowly opened his eyes, as he saw how Fubuki slowly started to wake from her slumber as well. She yawned slightly, before cuddling into his chest again. But only a few seconds later, she twitched slightly, before looking up quickly to see Comet smiling softly at her. She calmed down and returned the smile, scooting up and gave her boyfriend a kiss.

"Morning Shooting Star." She smiled.

"Morning my little Blizzard." He purred, as he pulled her in for another kiss again.

"Um, why are you in my bed?" Asked Fubuki after they ended their kiss.

"Well, after I carried a certain lovely destroyer with eyes as green as emeralds to her temporary bed, said destroyer had already nuzzled into my arm and wouldn't release me for the unforeseeable future." Mused Comet as the girl blushed deeply in embarrassment.

"I-I'm so-"

"You shouldn't. For it was one of the best nights sleep I've ever had. And I have the feeling that you enjoyed it as well." Interrupted the tugboat, putting a finger on Fubukis lips to silence her.

"M-maybe..." Muttered Fubuki, trying to hide her blush.

"You are a terrible liar." He moved closer, breathing into her ear, making her shudder.

"My sweet little Blizzard." He whispered, before pulling back again.

"Well! Let's get to work then! I'm making breakfast!" Grinned Comet before jumping out of the bed and quickly rushing outside, leaving a blushing and aroused Fubuki behind.

"H-hey! Not fair!" She moaned, as she stood up to run after him.

Comet quickly made them some breakfast, surprising Fubuki with the foreign but enjoyable peanut butter. After their breakfast, Comet made himself ready for the day of work ahead of him. After the much needed shower, he pulled the thick winter coat out from within his cupboard, along with the fitting navy blue scarf. One look outside of the window told him that it was going to be a very cold day today. Returning downstairs, he saw how Fubuki got herself ready to go outside as well, but lacking any proper winter clothing.

"Woah there Fubuki! Where are you heading to?" Asked Comet.

"I need to contact the admiral, I missed to report your progress yesterday, but the phone line is dead. I wanted to go to the town to contact him from there." She explained.

"You can't go out there dressed like that though!"

"But that's how I always dress..."

"Wait a sec." And the tugboat quickly walked up to the counter, talking a few words with the receptionist, who nodded, and led the railway tug into a room behind the counter.

He returned a few minutes later with some coats and another scarf.

"I don't know which one would be the proper size, so I brought you several of the coats the others left here. I can't let you freeze stiff out there can I?" Smiled Comet as he handed her one of the coats.

After a few tries, they found one that fitted her.

"I must say, you look very cute my little Blizzard!" Grinned the tugboat as Fubuki blushed in her dark blue coat, only adding to her cuteness.

"Alright then, the cold weather shouldn't be able to bother us now!" Exclaimed Comet as he opened the door, holding out his hand for Fubuki to hold it.

She gladly held his hand as they walked outside, the cold morning air making everything sparkle. Fubukis eyes shone at the sight, which in turn made her boyfriend all the more happier. They walked to the launching station where Comet got into his suit and after a rather long goodbye kiss, went on his way to the smaller lake to start the logging operations again.

The day had turned cold and gray, with thick clouds covering the sky. The wind, which had started shortly after sunrise, pressed the felt temperatures down by another five or more degrees. Comet was having a harsh time on the lake as he tried to tie the logs together, all the while having to make sure that there would be no chance of any log jams in the water. However, he couldn't be everywhere, and at several places, logs were starting to pile upon each other, freezing together in the ice cold temperatures.

"Comet!" Shouted the foreman, waving him over after he pulled apart another small jam.

"Yes sir?"

"This is no use, one tug alone won't be enough to take care of all these jams. I called captain Walters, he'll be sending Bull and Rock up here to help you. And before you ask, he told me that Churchill would take over the car ferry duties." Explained the man.

"So, what should I do until they arrive?"

"Just keep the jams small and get the logs you can pull together to the crane. With any luck, we should be able to get another train or two ready for departure before that big jam over there blocks the river from supplying us with fresh logs from upstream." Ordered the foreman as he walked to his office again.

Comet did as he was told, but the rough winds and cold air only made things worse, as more and more logs were drifted to the logjam. Before long, the jam had grown bigger than Comet, and blocked the access to the lake from the river.

"That's it, nothing more we can do." Sighted the crane operator.

"Why not try to pull it away?" Asked Comet.

"You see the size of it. Ain't nobody getting that stuff shifted." Grumbled one of the workmen from the day before.

"We'll just see about that!" Smirked Comet as he started to make his ways to the logjam.

"Crazy little fella." Chuckled one of the men.

"5000 yen that he ain't getting it moved."

"10000 yen that he will."

"Deal."

Comet moved as close as he could to the logjam, tying his rope to one of the logs that was wedged deeply inside of the jam. He gave a few strong tugs before he tied the other end to his suit. With an strong heave, he pulled at the jam, but except for a rather impressive display of steam, smoke and waves, nothing happend. He pulled a few more times, but it always ended in the same result. Just as he was about to give up however, two hooters rang out from behind him.

"Hey Comet." Rock said as he and Bull stopped behind the railway tug.

"That's one large logjam ya got there Comet! What are ya trying ta do with it?" Asked Bull.

"I'm trying to shift it to the other side, so that the logs from upstream can still go down here!" Panted the railway tug.

"Looks like ya could need another pair of hands or two! Rock! Get yaself behind that jam and push with all ya got! I'll get tied up to that log ova there and then we should have a mighty fine chance ta pull this one free!" Said Bull as the small switcher moved around the logjam and Bull tied himself to another log that was deep within the jam.

"Alright Bull! I'm ready!" Called Rock from the other side.

"Good! Get ready! **Pull**!" Shouted John Bull as they they dug into the water, heaving with all their might to get the jam moving.

But try as they might, the jam was staying where it was.

"Ugh, no use Bull, it won't budge." Sighted Comet.

"I don't think so! All we need is a bit more power and it'll move." Said the harbor tug, as from their left, a shrill whistle echoed, and the small yard tank engine moved up to them.

"Need a hand?" The driver of the small locomotive asked.

"Yes! Thank ya! Get her into full steam once we say so!" Called Bull as Comet went to get a chain to connect the locomotive with the jam.

Once everything was set, Bull gave the command.

"Get ready! **Pull**!" The tugs heaved, and the locomotive dug into its rails, as the large log jam started to move.

"Keep going we're doing it!" Shouted Bull as the jam continued to move further away from the entry, clearing the path for the logs again.

"Good work ya lot! At least we'll be able ta keep up with ta work!" Bull called, but then his attention went back to the logjam.

"Now how ta get this jam free again..." Murmured the harbor tug.

"Let's take care of that later, we're already way behind our schedule, and Takeo is going to be here with the next set of empties soon! Let's get the logs to the cranes and once the outgoing trains are loaded we can take care of that pile." Suggested Comet as he untied his rope and moved with it towards the logs that either fell from the jam when they were moving it or were washed into the lake when the entry from the river was opened again.

"Hmm, alright, but we better be quick. Don't want ta know how much bigger that jam can get." Grumbled the harbor tug as he and Rock quickly helped the railway tug.

With the three of them, the work was handled much faster than before, and before lunchtime, three long trains loaded with logs were waiting to be brought to the sawmills in the nearby town and further inland. They were spending most of the time they had left, as well as a large part of their lunchtime with trying to get the jam broken up, but no matter how hard they tried, except for a few logs that fell off from the top and side, the jam held together. They continued throughout the day, ramming into the pile and pulling out logs from it, but in the end, the pile was still blocking a large part of the lake, causing great concern for the foreman and the tugboats.

"There is no saying if that thing stays put. It could move on its own, and maybe burst through the barges keeping the logs in the lake. And tying it up would be useless, once that things gets moving, some ropes or chains won't stop it." Said the foreman.

"Don't ya worry, we'll be back tomorrow and brake that jam up!" Said Bull as the foreman nodded and headed home.

"Any idea how to get that jam undone?" Asked Rock as they headed towards the lakeside base.

"Not yet. But Ah think of somethin', don't ya worry. Say, how about I'll cook us a good home style dinner tonight?" Asked the large harbor tug as the others smiled, their stomachs rumbling in delight at the sound of having one of Bulls meals.

"Ah take that as 'yes'." Chuckled Bull as they reached the launching station, where they quickly dropped their suits and walked back to the small house.

When they walked inside however, the sweet smell of food was in the air, indicating that someone was already busy in the kitchen.

"Hehe, didn't knew Fubuki already cooks for ya Comet." Chuckled Bull, as the destroyer in question walked up to them.

"Welcome ho-, oh! Hello John Bull, hello Rock. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"There is a logjam in the smaller lake. Captain Walters sent them up here to help me clear it up, but it will take us a bit more time, so they'll stay the night here." Explained Comet.

"Oh, okay then. Good thing I made enough food for all of us then!" Smiled the destroyer.

"Well, you won't starve tonight, that is for sure, but we have a problem regarding the rooms. We only have one further room left, and it's a single bed room." Said the receptionist as he walked into the room

"I don't see any problems here. Mac sleeps in one bedroom, ah take the other and seeing that Comet and Fubuki will share one all the same, they take the one already occupied by Fubuki." Smirked Bull as he casually walked to the kitchen to help Fubuki with the dinner, while said destroyer and the railway tug next to her blushed brightly, unable to find a retort to John Bulls statement.

***ATTENTION! This part of the chapter is NSFW! Reading on your own risk! If you want to continue reading the SFW section, skip to the next sector with three stars! Thank you!***

After an enjoyable dinner, with a lot of praises from Rock and Bull regarding Fubukis food, to which the destroyer blushed, they headed to their individual bedrooms. While Comet already brought her to her bed the night before, it felt a bit different, knowing that Fubuki was awake and **agreeing** to let him sleep together with her in **her** **bed.** Comet waited in her room, while the destroyer made herself ready inside of the bathroom. Comet was relieved that she got the room with the extra bathroom, so that no embarrassing situations could happen while Bull and Rock stayed with them. A slight creaking from the bathroom door informed him that Fubuki had finished preparing for the night. He looked over, seeing the young destroyer walking over to the bed in her pajamas.

"The bath is free now." She mumbled with an light blush.

"Be right back." He smiled softly before kissing her cheek and heading into the bathroom.

He returned ten minutes later, dressed in his usual blue pajamas, and walked straight to the bed where Fubuki was already in the bed, the blanket pulled up to her nose, the little bit of her face exposed to him glowing red in the dimmed room.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about Fubuki. It isn't the first time we sleep together in one bed after all." Chuckled Comet as he pulled the blanked back.

He wasn't prepared to what was underneath the blanket. Fubuki was no longer wearing her pajama, but instead only wore her underwear. The sight of the barely dressed destroyer made Comets brain shut off, his yaw slacked, and a small trickle of blood slowly made his way from his nose.

"S-surprise..." Muttered Fubuki, still blushing deeply.

"I... I..." Started Comet, but couldn't get any further, his brain not creating any proper sentences as he kept staring, his own blush growing every second.

"U-um, s-should I put my pajamas on aga-"

"No!" Comet almost shouted, startling the girl in front of him slightly, before covering his mouth in embarrassment.

"I-I mean, y-you don't h-have to..." Stuttered Comet as he slowly moved into the bed next to her.

He turned off the lights and quickly turned to the destroyer, although there weren't any lights, his brown eyes shone with hunger and love towards the girl like beacons. For a few seconds, they hesitated to move, but that was quickly thrown aside as they closed the distance between each other, kissing each other over and over again, hands moving across each other's bodies as if to remember each other's every curve by pure touch alone. Comet, completely driven by his inner lust and love for Fubuki, decided to move further and slowly started to kiss his way down, from her lips over her neck to her collarbone. Fubuki gasped several times when the hot kisses of the tugboat touched her skin, her finger digging into his brown hair as she pressed him against her. However, she let out a light moan of discomfort when he stopped. She looked down, only to see him gaze up at her.

"M-may I...?" He stuttered, as Fubuki understood what he meant.

She quickly undid her bra, throwing the cotton clothing piece next to the bed as Comet continued his kisses, slowly trailing further down, before finally kissing her left breast. Fubuki moaned in pleasure as Comet continued to kiss her breasts, sucking on it every few seconds while softly kneading the other one with his right hand.

"A-ahh, C-Comet..." Whispered Fubuki, as the tugboat stopped briefly, moving up again to kiss the destroyer deeply again.

"Only the best service for the best destroyer in the world..." He whispered as he sunk back again, continuing where he had left off, trailing further kisses down her chest, past her navel before stopping once again, this time being on level with her panties. He looked up, but couldn't look her in the eyes as she was too embarrassed by the situation, blushing madly as she panted hard in excitement.

"Fubuki..." He whispered teasingly.

"P-please..." He heard her mutter.

"...don't stop..."

That was all he needed. He slowly pulled the last piece of clothing off of her, and slowly kissed his way from her waistline towards her center. At least he reached it, and blew a soft kiss onto her lower lips. A jolt of electricity went through the destroyers body as she felt a pleasure previously unknown race through her, making her see stars as Comet continued to plant soft kisses onto her lower region, making her produce soft moans of pleasure that increased in volume the longer he kept at it. He stopped kissing her, and started to lick her, collecting her juices with his tongue as if it was liquid gold. The destroyer was now panting heavily, calling the tugboats name every few seconds, her left hand turned into a fist in front of her mouth to block her moans, while her right hand held Comets head close. She felt something built up within her, rising with every second that passed.

"C-Com- Ah! C-Comet! I-I f-feel something c-coming..." She panted, as the feeling continued to climb, before it suddenly exploded into a firework of pleasure, shivering through her body like a gigantic wave as she loudly moaned Comets name, pressing him into her crotch, the tugboat leaping up the escaping juices with haste as the destroyer started to come down from her height. She was still panting when Comet finished cleaning her up, scooting up to be on eye level with her again, only to receive a long, deep kiss.

"That... was amazing..." Breathed the girl as she cuddled into the chest of the railway tug as he smiled, pulling his arms around her and pressing her against himself.

"Glad you enjoyed it." He whispered , kissing her temple.

"C-could you..." She muttered, the last part too silent for him to understand.

"Could I, what?" He asked, smiling as he knew what she was going to ask him.

"C-could you.. do that again sometime?" She whispered, blushing again.

"How can I say no when you ask and look so cute?" He chuckled.

"Of course I will. Good night, my little Blizzard." He whispered, kissing her once more.

"Good night, my Shooting Star." She whispered in return, as they both fell asleep.

***From here on out, the story will be SFW again! To all of you who read it, thank you for sticking with me, for all of you that skipped the part, sorry for the inconvenience!***

If one would ask Comet how he would describe his nights, he'd answer 'short and harsh!'. Even since the harbor had been chosen as one of the main military ports of the country, the calm life the tugboats had up to then was a thing of the past. Workdays drew out late into the night, and started up early the next day. The tugboat couldn't even remember the last time he managed to have a full 8 hours of rest at night, often having as little as half of that time to rest. Even when he was stationed here at the lakeside, his sleep time wouldn't be much longer than six or seven hours. But if you would ask him right now, he would tell you that he had the best sleep that night he ever had in his life. His bed felt as soft as a cloud, and he felt warm and cozy underneath the blanket. Although the warmth wasn't from the blanket, and more from the sleeping figure that still slept next to him, a small and constant smile on her face.

"It's moments like these where I want the world to pause for a while..." Murmured Comet with a smile as he looked out of the window.

His small smile turned into a broad grin when he saw the white landscape, knowing instinctively that the day would be a good one. At least for him.

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..." He whispered, as a slight knocking on the door pulled his attention away from the window.

The door slowly creaked open and Bulls head poked inside.

"Are ya getting ready soon? We've got work ta do." He asked, but keeping his voice low due to the sleeping destroyer.

"I'll be downstairs in a few." Came the hushed reply.

The harbor tug nodded and left the room again, while Comet scooted a bit down, to be at eye level with Fubuki, before softly kissing her. It only took a few seconds before he felt her kissing back, and they quickly lost themselves into the kiss, spending several minutes interlocked with each other, before pulling back.

"Morning little Blizzard." Blushed the tugboat.

"Morning Shooting Star. Is it time for work again?" She asked.

"Sadly, yes. And while I rather enjoy staying here with you and continue where we left off last night-" the destroyer blushed bright red at this "I can't leave Rock alone with Bull when it comes to logging duties. Bull is very strict when it comes to logging." Explained the railway tug as he sat up, only to regret it when he noticed that the resulting movement exposed a bit too much of Fubukis skin, which she quickly tried to cover with the blanket.

"I-um, better get dressed now." Coughed Comet, his lust tempting to take charge again as he hurried outside with the clothes he had taken out of the cupboard the night earlier, heading straight for the bathroom and throwing himself into the shower, letting the cold water cool his head down again.

"Ugh, I think I'll get into more trouble than I can cope right now if I can't get a grip. If she just wouldn't be so irresistible..." Sighted Comet as he finished showering, and quickly got dressed, heading downstairs to grab a quick bite and head out for the day's work.

When he got downstairs however, he was greeted by a rather pale looking Rock, who was poking around in his scrambled eggs.

"What's wrong with him?" Asked Comet as he sat down and dug into his breakfast.

"Well, he didn't catch a lotta sleep last night. There was a lotta ruckus from next door." Answered Bull calmly, as Comet began to cough violently, chocking on some of his eggs, before calming down, starring at the harbor tug, then at the switcher, and back to the other tug again.

Before he could utter an answer however, Fubuki walked inside and sat down next to Comet, starting to eat her portion. When she noticed the pale switcher however, she stopped, looking over to her boyfriend with a questioning expression. He leaned over and quickly whispered her what was the matter. The bright blush that covered her checks was enough for Comet to know that it was equally embarrassing to her as it was to him.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry Rock! I-I didn't knew I-"

"Was too loud? Lass, even **I** could hear ya, and I was at the other end of ta hallway." Grumbled Bull, resulting in Fubuki blushing even brighter, sinking down into her chair as she tried to hide behind Comet.

"Alright! I think that's enough of breakfast then!" Exclaimed Comet as he stood up, bringing the rest of his meal back to the kitchen, Bull following with his and Rocks plate.

"You could've been a bit more tactful." Frowned Comet.

"Ya could've been a bit more quiet and we wouldn't have needed ta speak about this." Retorted the larger tug with a similar frown.

"Touché..." Grumbled Comet as he started to clean the dishes.

After he finished cleaning them, he walked back into the living room, where Fubuki was sitting on the couch, still blushing, as he sat down next to her.

"You feeling alright?" He asked.

"J-just a bit foolish. I should've known they would hear. I shouldn't have tempted you..." She mumbled.

"Hey, I could've stopped myself." He chuckled, but Fubuki just gave him an unconvinced glance.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm not even convincing myself right now..." Murmured Comet as Fubuki sighted.

"Hey now, don't worry my little Blizzard. I doubt either of them will tell anybody, and aside from them hearing it, nothing really happened." Tried Comet again.

"Except for the fact that we mentally scarred Rock..." Groaned the destroyer.

"You really enjoy taking the blame onto yourself don't ya?" Chuckled the tugboat with a shake of his head, as he lifted her face up, kissing her briefly.

"I think I know what you need right now! A bit of fresh air! Come on!" He smiled and stood up, pulling her up as well.

"Oh I don't know-" She started, but Comet cut her off by throwing her the coat he gave her, yesterday.

The destroyer sighted, and put on her coat, seeing that it was useless to try and convince him for her to stay inside. When she got outside however, she was stunned by the snow covered landscape.

"Hehe, surprised?" Comet grinned, as he watched her expression.

"I've got the feeling every time I open that door I step into a different world." Smiled Fubuki.

"Glad you enjoy it! Hey, I've got an idea! Wait a second!" He grinned and went into the launching station. A few seconds later, he came out of it again, dressed in his working suit, floating next to the pier of the base, waving the young destroyer over.

When she was close enough, he quickly scooped her into his arms and started to slowly head across the lake.

"W-woah there! Stop Comet! Bring me back!" She called, but the tugboat just laughed.

"Well, you don't have your suit with you to take a look at the lake, so this is at least something!" Laughed the tugboat as he carried the destroyer across the lake, carrying her bridal style towards the log loading station, where Bull and Rock were already working at trying to get the logjam cleaned up.

"Took ya time Comet! Why did ya brought Fubuki with ya?" Asked Bull as he tried to shift another log.

"I thought a bit of fresh air would do her good!" Grinned the railway tug in return

Uhu, and ya thought the smell of wet logs counts as 'fresh air' or what?" Grumbled the harbor tug, but didn't gave Comet any time to reply as he whistled loudly, and shouted to Rock.

"Woah there Rock! And what do ya think ya're doing?!"

"What did I do?" Asked the switcher as he slowly moved up to the harbor tug with some logs in tow.

"What did ah taught ya and Mac about logging? Ya have to tie them up just right! Not slack, but not too tight neither!" Said the bigger tug as he adjusted the rope himself.

"Huh? I always thought that tighter is better." Said Fubuki, who had listened to their talking.

"Hehe, ya think so, but tie them up too tight and they'll rub against each other, and that causes frictional heat, which can cause them to catch fire!" Explained Bull, smiling slightly about the fact that he could teach somebody about a matter he was an expert in.

"Ah yes, wet logs catching fire, I can never get used to that..." Murmured Rock.

"Aye, and that's what's going ta happen ta this logjam, if we can't get it shifted soon! Comet, help Rock once you dropped Fubuki off somewhere safe, once that train's finished loading, both of ya help me pull this jam apart!" Ordered John Bull as the two tugboats nodded and headed off to the transfer station.

"I'll be back soon, why don't you look around a bit? They might not look that interesting, but the people who work here are pretty nice and are always happy to talk to someone new." Suggested Comet as he and Rock headed back out onto the small lake, gathering the logs needed for the trains. The train was quickly loaded, and the switcher and railway tug soon returned to Bull, who was leaning against the large pile.

"Alright, let's get going then. Rock, get out of yar suit and climb up onto that pile, take our ropes with ya. Tie them and ya own rope ta some of the logs on the other side and then throw the ropes down to us. Once ya're down again, we'll all pull as strong as we can and tear down the top part! That should make it easier for us ta get the rest movin as well!" Explained Bull as Rock got out of his gear and grabbed the ropes, starting to climb the log pile.

"I don't know what to think of this. It's hardly safe." Frowned Comet.

"He's the lightest out of us three, and he climbed enough trees back in port over the years. He'll be alright, don't worry." Reassured Bull, as the switcher reached the top of the pile, and disappeared behind the top for a minute, before reappearing again and jumping down the side facing the two waterborne tugs.

"Alright, let's move, but stay a safe distance away from those logs! And... **Pull**!" Bull shouted, as the three tugboats pulled hard. However, none of them noticed that, instead of the center, the left side of the log jam started to shift. Rock, who was on the left, saw it and whistled in alarm.

"Watch out!"

"What the-? Oh no, MOVE OUT QUICKLY!" Bull shouted, but it was too late. While the harbor and railway tug still had time to escape, the switchers path was already blocked by the falling logs, trapping him within the logjam.

"Now we've done it. Rock! Are ya alright?!" Called Bull.

"Aye, but I'm stuck over here!" Called Rock.

"Is it just me, or does something smell a bit... burned here?" Asked Comet, as they all sniffed, smelling the same, smokey smell as their fellow railway tug did.

"Oh no, the logs are catching fire!" Called Rock from his side of the blockade.

"Now keep calm Rock! We'll get you out if there! Somehow..." Called Bull, just as a booming whistle came from the pier.

"That sounds like Hiro! We can send him down the line and get help up here!" Said Comet as he rushed off before Bull could retort.

"Hey there Comet! Something wrong?" Asked the man as he leaned out of his engines cab.

"Rock is trapped in the logjam, get down the line and sent help up here!" Retorted Comet.

"No problem! I'm on the way as soon as I'm coupled up!" Said the locomotive driver, as one of the shunters couples the locomotive to the train, and with another blast of its whistle, the train departed back down the line.

„Alright, Hiro will be faster down river than I would, with any luck he should see Mac or one of the others. In the meantime, we should start to get Rock out of there." Said Comet as he got back to the other two tugboats.

„Anything I can do?" Asked Rock, slightly nervous as he started to feel a bit warmer than earlier.

„Nah, not from yer point. Don't worry though, we'll get ya outa there somehow." Comforted Bull.

„…I do hope Hiro will find help soon…" Murmured Rock.

Hiro was quickly making his way down the line, when he passed a little dock just outside of Mittsville. Mac was there, waiting for his barge to be finished loading. The driver quickly braked his train to a stop, jumping out and running to the young switcher.

„Oy Hiro, you in trouble? Pretty unusual for you to stop right in the middle of the line like that!" Asked Mac.

„No but your brother is!"

„Rock? What did he do?"

„Trapped himself in a logjam!"

„Oh no! Where?"

„Well up at the smaller lake!"

„Alright, thanks Hiro!"

„Good luck there young fellow! You'll need it…" Said the driver as the young switcher rushed off up river, while he returned to his goods train to clear the section of track.

Meanwhile, John Bull and Comet were still trying to free Rock, pulling loose logs out of the jam, but at a very slow pace.

„By the time we are through the whole jam will be burned to cinders and Rock as well!" Huffed Comet.

„Just keep on moving will ya?" Growled Bull as they kept working.

Fubuki was close to Rock, trying to keep his moral up while the two tugboats tried to free him.

„Don't worry, they'll get you out of here." She said.

„I do hope so…" Murmured the young tug.

„The smoke from my stack seems to be a bit heavy though!" Coughed the switcher.

Fubuki looked behind him and grew concerned. There was a lot of smoke rising behind him, but not from his smokestack. She walked towards the quay where she could speak easier with Comet and Bull.

„It's getting worse over there, the fire is getting larger and smoke is building fast." She said.

„We've got to get him out fast then!" Said Bull.

„How long do you think it'll be before it bursts into flames?" Asked Comet.

„Never time to-„ Started Bull, but was interrupted by Mac, blasting his hooter as he moved up to them.

„Mac! Grand timing!" Called Bull.

„Damn, how did this happen?!" Asked the young switcher.

„Never mind that, just give us a hand we've got to get him out and fast!" Barked Bull as all three started to pull the logs free.

„Don't worry, we'll get you out of there little bro!" Called Mac.

„Just hang on tight!" Shouted Bull as he pulled another log free.

„It's beginning to get warm around there!" Replied Rock cheekily, but with a hint of urgency, as Fubuki walked back over, seeing that the fire had grown bigger again.

Just then, a deep, two tone hooter rang out, and a familiar Alligator tug steamed up to them.

„Hello!"

„Oh no! It's Dundee with his dynamite!" Called Mac.

„Oh no, tell him to clear up Mac! Flames and dynamite don't mix!" Called Rock from the other side of the jam.

„Look Dundee, clear up, any of this stuff lands on your dynamite and we're all going to blow up!" Said Mac, moving into Dundee's path.

„Hang on, hang on! How did you lot get in that mess?" Mused the small tugboat.

„On purpose, just for the fun of it! On your way now man!" Snarled Bull with plenty of sarcasm.

„No, wait Dundee! Can you give us a little blast? Just to get my brother out?"

„No! He'll go and blow Rock up as well!" Interrupted Comet.

„Oh no I won't! You'll see!" Smirked the Alligator tug.

„Well, you've got to do something…" Mumbled Rock.

Bull weighted his options. On one hand he'd need to get Rock out, and with the dynamite, they'd get him out sooner than they would if they'd keep on pulling the logs out. On the other hand was the fact that, if the logs could free themselves from the lake, they would likely head on downstream, and that such a force would be unstoppable in its path.

„Ugh! I *cough* had- *cough* hadn't had such a bad cough since my engine need over-*cough* hauling! *cough*" Rock said, coughing hard while the smoke rose around him.

„Look, it's getting even worse! Come on Bull, let Dundee have a go!" Pleaded Mac, scared for his brother.

„Alright, but only a small blast Dundee, and just enough to get Rock out, do you understand?!" Sighted Bull.

„'course! Hehe, don't worry, you'll be okay Rock!" Grinned the Alligator tug.

„No need to blow me out of the water 'kay?" Called Rock back.

„No worries, a controlled explosion is all we need!"

„Aye! Very controlled!" Added Bull.

„Stand back everyone, I'm in charge now!" Said Dundee loudly as he moved in to place his dynamite.

„That's what I'm afraid of…" Murmured Bull as he watched the small tug go.

Dundee quickly went to work, placing several dynamite sticks at various points of the logjam, and connecting all of them with several fuses. When everything was ready, he pulled out a matchbox, and quickly lit one of the matches.

All set!" He called out, as he lit the fuse.

"Get well back everybody!" Called the Alligator tug as he steamed back to the other tugboats and Fubuki, who were waiting a safe distance away from the logjam, next to the quay.

"Oh I wish I could..." Murmured Rock.

"It's not going to be a big bang, is it Dundee?" Asked Mac.

"I said 'well back' to be on the safe side." Smiled the smaller tug as they all gulped.

"I wish I could be on the safe side as well..." Sighted the trapped switcher.

"You'll be okay Rock!" Called Dundee as the fuses split up into several shorter ones, getting closer to the dynamite sticks.

"Three! Two! One!" Shouted Dundee, before the dynamite detonated, blowing several logs into the air, and destroying further ones, smaller pieces of wood flying through the air like shrapnel.

"*cough* *cough* Ugh! Anybody left out there?!" Shouted Rock, blackened from the gunpowder and partly deaf due to the blast.

"That was a big bang!" Frowned Bull.

"It was a very controlled blast though... Hey! I'm out! See?" Grinned Rock as he slowly chuffed up to the others, before being pulled into a hug by Mac.

"Well, that's one thing to be thankful for." Sighted Comet in relief, ruffling Rocks hair with a smile.

"And look, it's blown the fire out!" Grinned Dundee.

"Well done Dundee!" Said Mac, but Bull wasn't so joyous as he eyed the remaining logjam with concern.

"Aye, and look what else it has done! The whole jam is breaking up!" Groaned the harbor tug as the logs started to tumble into the water, pushing the other logs around them away.

"Move back! Move back fast!" Called Bull as they moved to the furthest point away from the jam.

The pile of logs quickly fell apart, and pushed against the barges placed as a barrier at the entry of the lake. The power of Dundee's explosion turned the logs into a huge battering ram. The barges groaned under the strain but couldn't hold them any further. The logs pushed them aside, and rushed dangerously out of the smaller lake, and onto the larger lake.

"Quick! Before that lot reaches the port at the town!" Called Mac.

"Uh, should I get going now?" Asked Dundee meekly, as he quickly saw that this situation was his fault.

"Yes you better may! You've done enough for one day! Nothing will be able to stop them once they reach the entry of the river! Call that a 'controlled explosion'?!" Roared Bull, as an echoing whistle interrupted his rant.

"Sounds like Puffa's engine." Said Rock.

"Great! Send him down the line to warn the ports! He's faster than the current can carry the logs." Said Bull, as Comet quickly rushed over to him.

"Hey Puffa! Head down the line and warn the towns along the river! The log dam is broken, the logs are already in the larger lake and will probably head down river soon!" Called Comet.

"Will do! But what can they do about it?" Asked the driver, as Fubuki came up to them.  
"The admiral told me this morning while giving him the daily report that Churchill, Boomer and Edwin are working in… how do you call Shibukawa again?"  
"We call it Mittsville. 'Cause its midway up the river." Said Comet.

"Right, At Mittsville for most of the day, maybe they can help?" She said.

"Good thinking Fubuki! Here-" He quickly took his radio off and handed it to the destroyer. "Try contacting Edwin while you're heading down to Mittsville, they'll figure something out to stop them!" Said Comet, as Preston shunted his locomotive in front of the line of loaded flatbeds.

"Right! A rrrrrrace against time! I'll beat 'em!" Shouted the engine driver, as Fubuki jumped onto the locomotive, and with the wheels pounding the rails and the whistle screaming loudly, the goods train started to make its way down the line.

"Don't stop for anything!" Shouted Comet.

The goods train raced down the line, whistling loudly for the signalmen along the way to clear the tracks. The tugboats quickly set off out onto the larger lake to prevent the logs from wrecking the civilian port in the town. The logs were floating around, drifting closer towards the quay, however, before they could reach it, the tugs intercepted them, moving in front of the logs and slowing them down to stop them from getting any closer.

"Keep them away from the quay!" Shouted Bull.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Cried Mac back, as the logs pushed against the opposing force of the tugs.

Gradually, the weight against the tugs grew smaller, and at last, they were able to push the logs away from the port.

"Phew! That was heavy!" Sighted Rock.

"Aye, but a nice bunch of 'em drifted down the river while we tried to keep them at bay. Comet, follow me. Let's try to catch up to them; we might be able to help! Mac, Rock, stay here, and try ta get these logs here back into the lake!" Called Bull.

"Alright! Good luck you two!" Called Rock.

"Welp, anything is worth a try…" Mumbled Comet as he and the harbor tug followed the logs downstream.

Puffa had a hard time driving the train down the line. He couldn't bring his engine up to full speed, due to the icy conditions of the rails, and due to the fact that there always could be something on the track. While he had to drive, he also had to feed the fire, as his usual fireman had come down with a cold and no spare one was available that day. Fubuki kept trying to contact Edwin, but only got static from the radio, something she couldn't understand, as the radio equipment had only recently been checked for any malfunctions. But even with all the setbacks, the goods train soon caught up with the logs, drew level, and quickly began to overtake them. The logs were sweeping away everything in their path. They soon reached the small goods dock where Hiro had met Mac earlier, and Puffa quickly blasted the whistle in short, quick bursts, warning the dock workers of the disaster that was about to hit them. The dock workers saw the logs rushing towards them, and quickly ran away from the pier. Some of the logs had been slowed down or even stopped at the river bends, but a majority of them were still rushing down the river. Bull and Comet caught up just in time to witness how the battering ram of logs smashed into the wooden structure of the quay, and demolished it, almost instantly. Some further logs were stopped by the wreckage, but the larger rest surged on relentlessly into the direction of Mittsville center. The Steam Tugs followed on, trying to avoid the floating debris. Both Bull and Comet knew, that it would be an even worse outcome for Mittsville.

"I wouldn't like to be in Mittsville once that load hits the quaysides…" Grumbled Bull.

"Nor me, no thank you!" Sighted Comet, as they followed the remaining logs down the river.

"Which factory did you say Boomer?" Asked Ewin, as he, Boomer and Churchill, along with Little Ditcher and some other cranes and their operators were waiting near the quay of Mittsville.

"Captain Walters said to take Little Ditcher and the others to the demolitions factory." Said Boomer.

"I think he meant the factory that was due for demolition." Frowned Edwin, but was interrupted by a loud, echoing whistle.

The goods train raced into the docks, whistle blasting loudly, the signalmen, thinking it was out of control, switched it onto a track leading towards the docks, where they planned to derail it. Puffa quickly slammed on the brakes, the brake blocks clinging onto the wheels, and slowing the train down drastically, shaking everyone on board, as it came to a stop close to the three tugboats.

"Puffa? What's up?" Asked Edwin, but the poor engine driver was too tired out to answer.

"A mass of logs..! On their way from the lake..! Get down river fast..!" He panted, as Fubuki jumped out of the cab.

"The log dam at the smaller lake has broken; the logs are heading down here! We need to evacuate the area! Quickly!" Said Fubuki, as the pupils of the three tugboats shrunk.

"I'll head further down the line and warn Mittsville station!" Said Puffa as he got his train into reverse and headed further down the line to the passenger station.

"Good heavens! At this current, they'll rip the whole quayside, and us as well!" Gasped Churchill.

"Well, let's stop them! Right here!" Said Boomer.

"Be sensible Boomer! How do you want to stop them?" Asked Edwin.

"Well, I simply move Little Ditchers crane into the middle of the river, he'll put the legs down, and then the crane won't move!" Said Boomer casually, as he pulled the crane towards the middle of the river.

"No! It'll get smashed to pieces instead!" Called the crane operator, but it was no use as Boomer ignored him.

"Well, it would be smashed up there or here. Makes no difference." Huffed Churchill.

"Boomer got it right, for once… We'll make ourselves into a barrier! Across from the quayside to the island! Bring your barge Churchill! It might work! It's worth a try!" Said Edwin as they went to work.

"I'll go and help Mr. Kessler evacuate the people in the town! Good luck!" Called Fubuki as she ran off in the direction where the train went to.

"An even better idea! Arrange the cranes and barges into a slope, so that the logs get diverted down to the other side of the island! The bay there will be ideal to catch the logs in!" Said Edwin, as they placed the cranes and barges.

"You think that'll work?!" Asked Ditcher.

"Put those legs down Ditcher and don't argue!" Ordered Boomer.

"Either it'll work or we will never work again…" Said Edwin gloomily.

The church bells soon started to ring out, calling out a warning to everybody to evacuate the area. Puffa had dropped the goods train in a siding, and picked up a small line of passenger coaches that were left in the yards to bring the citizens of the town out of the danger zone. Edwin was still organizing the dam, but was almost finished.

"Hurry up Ditcher! I can almost hear the logs coming!" Shouted Boomer.

"Almost done! Just need to get this last leg down!" Came the reply from the crane operator.

"What the-?! Oh no! Boomer! You're on the wrong side of the dam!" Shouted Edwin, only now noticing.

"Uh, yeah.. so I am.. Well, how do I…" He started, but was cut off when he heard a loud grumbling behind him.

He turned around, just to see the massive front of logs, heading his way.

"Suffering stacks! Look at the size of that!" Cried the harbor tug.

"Now don't worry Boomer! We'll ram against them and push them aside as they hit! Try to divert them to the bay on the other side of the factory!" Called Edwin.

"Easier said than done!" Retorted Boomer, as the logs hit them.

"Ugh!" Groaned Boomer, as the logs tried to squeeze him between the barges.

"Come on! Ram and push! Ram and push!" Called Edwin, as they all pushed against the barges.

The logs pushed with all the might they had gathered on the way down the river, but the tugs, cranes and barges held firm, and wouldn't be pushed over.

"They are moving past! It's working!" Called Churchill.

And indeed, it did. The logs started to move down alongside the dam, dragging Boomer with them for a few yards, before he could free himself again and move away from the current of logs.

"You've done it!" Cried Edwin happily.

"Haha! Good work Boomer old chap! Marvelous!" Laughed Churchill happily.

However, some of the logs broke away from the main part of the pile, and rammed into one of the rundown factories, destroying it in the process.

When Comet and Bull arrived, they explained what had happened at the lake. They were all relieved that the quayside was undamaged, but Bull was still concerned.

"The owner of that old factory will be in for a nasty surprise…" Grumbled the harbor tug.

"No, a pleasant one! Saves him the price for the demolition!" Chuckled Edwin.

"Well Little Ditcher, seems like you're job has been cut out for you! Although, I feel a bit demolished myself!" Laughed Boomer.

"Yes, well, you've got the worst of it Boomer! You are lucky to survive! Hmhm, and so is Little Ditchers crane!" Mused Churchill.

"Yeah, in Mittsville, you'll be a hero, think of that Boomer!" Smiled the paddle steamer.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Said Boomer with a small smile.

"Well, you're a brave tug Boomer. Anyways, let's get this lot cleared up! Come on everybody!" Called Edwin, as they all got to work to get the logs out of the river. It took a lot of work for the tugs to get the logs transferred onto the flatbeds, since the cranes at Mittsville hadn't been built to move that many logs at the same time. On the upside, plenty of the logs could simply be transported to the sawmills in the town by the river, and only those that needed transportation elsewhere in the country had to be transferred onto the trains. By late afternoon, all the logs had been transferred, and the remains of the factory had been cleared up. Churchill, Boomer and Edwin headed home, while Bull and Comet went back up river. Fubuki already went back to the Steam Tugs base on an earlier passenger train, to send the report to the admiral about the day's events.

"Alright, I think I finally can understand your respect for logs Bull." Sighted Comet.

"Well, I think we all learned something today. I've been again surprised by my brother and his bravery for example." Chuckled the harbor tug as they slowly reached the launching station at their base. There, Mac and Rock were already waiting for them, Rock had one bag in his hand, while Mac had another.

"Captain Walters ordered us back home, now that the logjam has been cleared up. Comet will come home tomorrow after the final set of log transports has been finished." Said Mac, as he handed Bull his bag.

"Huh? Thought I was sent up here for a couple of weeks…" Murmured the railway tug.

"Yes, but captain Walters said it was urgent that you would get back as soon as possible. He also wants you to get your radio equipment checked, Fubuki seemed to had some problems earlier with it and he wants to make sure that you won't go out there without radio communication." Explained Rock.

"Very well. See you lot tomorrow then." Said Comet as he got out of his suit and waved his three friends goodbye, before heading inside the house.

Once inside, he gave a short nod to the receptionist to inform him that he was back, before heading towards his room. Once there, he was greeted by Fubuki and a note.

"The admiral has given us new orders. I guess Mac and Rock told you about tomorrow already?" Asked the destroyer.

"Yeah, that we are to return to the base tomorrow."

"Yes, apparently, all the supplies, the transport ships and the German naval task force are preparations for a special operation. We are to be briefed tomorrow afternoon, once we returned to the base." Explained Fubuki.

"Got to be quite the operation if so many ships and supplies are called upon." Said the tugboat.

"Anyways, I'm going to take a shower now. The day was way too exciting for simple logging duties." Continued the tug, as he turned to the door towards the bathroom.

After Comet returned from his shower, he quickly got into the bed next to Fubuki, and with her snuggling into his arms, they drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

In the launching station, everything was quiet, nobody was around, and not a sound could be heard. That was, until Comet's radio suddenly perked up.

"This is Prometheus, calling home port. I have visual on an unmarked vessel, heading towards the port. Request backup incase vessel turns out to be-" The radio began to malfunction, before dying for a short while.

A few further minutes passed, before the radio perked up again, Prometheus sounding rather nervous now, a very rare thing for the tugboat gigant.

"Number of vessels has now increased to more than 15, request Immedient backup!" A sudden blast was heard through the radio.

"Vessels have started firing at me! Starting evasive maneuvers! To all fleetgirls in radio distance! We are under attack, I repeat, we are-" The radio died again, this time however, no further messages would be received.

As the night went on, those few souls who were still awake at the lakeside town would look onwards down into the direction of the coast, from which continuous, flickering red lights could be seen, and distant, dull thuds could be heard, until they stopped, barely an hour before dawn.

 **And they said the Polar Express was a roller coaster aye? Joke aside, things are speeding up, the special operation is nearly upon our girls at the port, but it appears that somebody brought their own plan into motion before our girls got their chance. I wonder who that could be... Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, this was actually the first time I've ever written a chapter with content such as this, I would like to know how you all enjoyed it, if you'd like to see more of such content, and if you didn't liked it, what I could make to improve it. That's all from me, have a great rest of the day folks, and I hope I can see you again when the next chapter rolls in!**


End file.
